


Paradise Murders

by Aleonoria (Nelle)



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010), NCIS
Genre: Crimes & Criminals, Thriller, Translation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-17
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-09-18 05:40:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 79,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9370595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nelle/pseuds/Aleonoria
Summary: Hawaii. The epitome of paradise.When Leilani Shaw, together with her partner, is transferred there in support of the local NCIS office everything seems to be wonderful.But appearances are deceptive and before the young Special Agent could really settle down she has to cope with several corpses, a cunning murderer and a stubborn Steve McGarrett.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Paradise Murders](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8156938) by [Aleonoria (Nelle)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nelle/pseuds/Aleonoria). 



> Oh my god!! I did it. I really did it.  
> I really translated Paradise Murders. My, as I call it, baby. This story was my first try in the Five-0 fandom and I hope I did well.  
> I tried my best, but as English is only my second language and I don't have a beta reader, there might be still some mistakes. So, if you find something that totally makes no sense please tell me so I can correct it and thereby can get better.
> 
> Second thing to say: the story starts in 2012 (Five-0 Season 2), therefore there might be still characters in it that aren't in the shows anymore.

The night was approaching its end, and the first light of the rising sun was already visible in the east. It was already clear that this would be another, beautiful day on the Pacific Island. But the man didn't spare a look for the spectacle in the sky. He was completely focused on the task in front of him. It was important that he did not make any mistakes, that he worked cleanly. The young woman in front of him lay completely motionless on her back and looked at him with wide open eyes. He could see that she wanted to say something, but she was no longer able to do it. He had taken care of that. He always ensured that his victims could not defend themselves. It had been a painful lesson. Victims who were fighting collect traces, traces that could lead to him. So he sedated them. That was easy, because it was part of his speciality. A subject that no one knew he was capable of. His camouflage was good. No, more than good - it was perfect. It had cost him many years of work, and now he could do what he wanted to. No one would stop him. No way! No one was able to do it.  
He knelt beside the woman, lifted his right arm, and derived pleasure from the expression that appeared in her eyes. This was the moment when they began to realize that there would be no way out of this situation for them, that they would not experience another day. This was the moment which was the sweetest. This was what the hunting meant for him, what he wanted to experience again and again. What he had to experience.  
When the weapon entered the young woman's chest, he felt no resistance. This was another reason why they could never trace anything back to him. Sharp weapons left no verifiable traces behind.  
He pulled the blade out of the woman's body and breathed in, absorbing the metallic smell of the blood deep inside. Exhilarating himself. He regretted a little that the hunt was always over so fast. But mistakes could only be avoided by speed. Who did not make mistakes was not caught. This was his mantra, his supreme law. He stroked the cheeks of the young woman carefully, almost tenderly. Then he closed her eyes, leaned forward and breathed a kiss on her forehead, which was covered by a dense pony. He did not often do this. But when he got the opportunity, as in this case, he could not resist. She was simply the sweetest thing he had ever seen. Surpassing her would be difficult. But he had to make it and he would make it.  
He pulled a cloth from his pocket and wiped the still moist blood from the blade. Then he looked around to see if he had left any marks. When he could see nothing, he left the apartment. As soon as the door had closed behind him, he looked into the ever-brighter sky and breathed deeply.  
Perhaps he would go surfing today.


	2. Meet the Shaws, Pt. 1

A cold wind whistled through the streets of Washington DC, when NCIS Special Agent Leilani Shaw ducked behind a large waste container, in which shortly after bullets stroke in.  
“Lei, is everything okay with you?”  
She ignored the voice from the InEar and risked a cautious look. She tried to spot the suspect, but other garbage cans blocked her gaze.  
“Leilani! Answer me at once!” She could hear something like panic in her partner's voice, and only for that reason did she answer him: “Damn, Keanu! Yeah, I'm fine!” She hissed, hoping that now silence would reign.  
When the next bullet hit the container, she ducked again. This guy was really stubborn. Her partner and she had already followed him through half the town, but he still withdrew from the arrest. The suspect, Marine PFC William Donnelly, had originally only been guilty of drug possession, but when they had wanted to arrest him, he had escaped. And not only that! He had attacked a comrade with a knife, hurt him and finally got a pistol. Leilani did not for the first time during this case ask herself how a single person could be so stupid. Drug possession and consumption were at a maximum for the deletion of shore leave and pay for a few months, but by the bodily injury and unauthorized possession of the weapon, a prison sentence was now a sure thing.  
“PFC Donnelly, surrender yourself!”  
The answer to her demand was another bullet that hit the container. Meanwhile, Leilani was really glad Donnelly had only a 9mm and not something bigger.  
“Keanu, where the hell are you? The guy has only a 9mil, but that also slowly holes my hiding place!”  
“Do not worry, lil’ one, I'm on my way.”  
“What? Just now? What stopped you? A burger shop or some woman?” She muttered.  
“Well,” he said hesitatingly over radio, which made her get angry.  
“Keanu, you should clarify your priorities very urgently!” She snapped.  
There was a laugh in her ear.  
“I think my priorities are clearly defined. I need something to eat and from time to time the warm body of a hot lady, especially at these icy temperatures.”  
Leilani snorted, but then heard a loud voice from the other end of the alley: “NCIS! Down with the gun!”  
Carefully she straightened herself, expecting the next bullet in the container at any time. But the shot failed to come. Her SIG P226, still unlocked in her hand, she came out from behind her cover and walked towards the two men who were looking at her. One was PFC William Donnelly and the other her partner. When she reached the two men, she secured her gun and stowed it in the holster.  
“So Private, that was pretty much the dumbest thing you could do. Gunship use against a federal agent ... What does that give, Keanu?”  
Her partner smiled and handcuffed Donnelly.  
“Five or seven years at least. In addition, drug possession and consumption ... Donnelly, this will be a damn unpleasant time for you.”  
Donnelly shook his head. “I knew I should have left the city!”  
“No,” Leilani dragged this one word sarcastically, “it was really totally intelligent of you to flee from Norfolk to D.C., then staying in Fredericksburg and also to pay with credit card ...” She shook her head. “Really an intellectual masterpiece,” she said sarcastically.  
Keanu grinned and then pushed Donnelly away to their car.  
“Just leave it, Leilani. Inform him about his rights and then nothing like away from here. Washington in winter is just fucking cold!”  
Leilani shook her head, grinning, but then did what Keanu had told her.

A little later Keanu and Leilani sat at their desks at the NCIS headquarters, working on the files of the last cases. They were a well-trained team, which had many reasons. One of the main reasons, however, was that they mostly knew what the other was thinking and how he or she would behave in the next moment. So it was also not unusual that Leilani gave Keanu without looking up her coffee beaker after he stood up.  
“You're so friendly?” She asked with a slight grin.  
“Why?”  
“Why?! Just because you had to flirt with some chick, I was almost made into Swiss-Cheese! You owe me more than just a cup of coffee.”  
“Come on, Lei, don’t be like that!”  
She waved silently with the mug and sighing Keanu went to the kitchen.  
As soon as he had returned and he had put the coffee on the table, a broad grinning face appeared above the half-height partition of the office space.  
“So, what have you done again now?”  
“What do you mean, DiNozzo?” Keanu looked at the Special Agent questioningly.  
“Gibbs has just got an even grimmer face than usual and ran up to the director. So, what did you do?”  
Keanu and Leilani looked at each other thoughtfully. They were not aware of any guilt. Still, they jerked together as Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs appeared at the top of the stairs and his voice thundered through the office: “Shaw! Immediately to the Director!”  
Keanu and Leilani jumped up together and ran to the stairs. When they passed DiNozzo, he smirked, “Well? What did I say?”

Together with Keanu, Leilani entered the office of her boss.  
“Director Vance, you wanted to see us?”  
The dark-skinned man nodded, but did not yet look up from the files before him. Leilani gave her partner an uncertain look, which he answered with a shoulder shrug. Shortly after, Vance looked firmly at them.  
“Good work with the arrest, Agent Shaw.”  
“Thank you, sir,” came unanimously from both:  
“I've called you in for a reason. How well do you know your way around Hawaii?”  
“Sir?” Keanu and Leilani looked at the director confused. “Is that a catch question?”  
“Not at all. So?”  
“Well,” Leilani added, “at fourteen, we moved from O'ahu to Atlanta, but were visiting relatives there during the holidays. So you can definitely say that there is local knowledge.”  
“Good”, Vance nodded slowly, “two years ago, the then governor of Hawaii established a special task force. Five-0 has done really good work, which is not to deny. But Hawaii is home to more than 140,000 Navy and Marine Corps members, and the NCIS office on the islands ... Well, let's say it's a little under-occupied.”  
Leilani first looked at Keanu and then totally shaken at Vance.  
“There is no NCIS bureau in Hawaii?”  
“That not,” said her boss and once again played with his toothpick, a habit that especially Leilani found absolutely disgusting. “Because of dislocations and also age-related withdrawal, the agents have departed. The colleagues in L.A. have joined in support as needed, but they have clearly told me that they do not want to and cannot continue to do this additional task.”  
“And what, sir,” Keanu said, “do you mean to say with that?”  
“I want to say the following: Pack your things. I'll move the team Shaw.”  
“Excuse me?” It came at the same time.  
Vance sighed and straightened. “How clearly should I say it? Special Agent Keanu Shaw, from now on you and Special Agent Leilani Shaw will work as a stand-alone, but also an additional team in Hawaii.”

Totally dazed, Leilani and Keanu left the office of their boss.  
“Hey, Shaw, what did the big boss want from you?”  
Keanu stopped and looked at DiNozzo.  
“We've been moved.”  
“But why? You have not done anything wrong. So, where are you going?”  
Leilani turned to him and slowly a grin spread on her face. “We go home.”  
“What?”  
_“Ua hele mākou i Hawai'I”_ , Keanu explained in perfect Hawaiian.  
DiNozzo looked at him blankly, but before Leilani or Keanu could answer, Agent Ziva David interrupted: “You've been transferred to Hawaii?”  
“You speak Hawaiian?” DiNozzo asked his partner in amazement.  
“Of course, you not?”  
DiNozzo waved his hand and then turned to Keanu and Leilani: “And why to Hawaii? When Vance took me off, I landed on a destroyer.”  
Keanu grinned broadly, stroking his medium-length, dark brown hair out of his face. “We're Hawaiians.”  
“What?”  
Leilani sighed aloud. “Our mother is a Hawaiian. Keanu and I were born on Lāna'i, but we spent our childhood on O'ahu, and for that reason we were transferred to the islands.”  
“And when does it start?”  
Leilani looked around. “As soon as possible. We still have to inform our parents and our relatives.”  
Keanu grinned with a look out of the window. Outside it began to snow again. “In less than a week I lie on the beach of O'ahu and look for the next wave.”  
Leilani gave her partner a not very light push against the shoulder. “What my loving brother wanted to say in a not so friendly way is that we should go home and grab our stuff.”  
Ziva grinned and then embraced Leilani and Keanu. She had always been on good terms with the siblings, so she felt a bit sorry to have to say good-bye to them.  
“Call, when you have arrived, and if you should need something, let me know.”  
Leilani nodded and, together with Keanu, left the headquarters to prepare everything for her move to Hawaii.

~. ~

When Leilani opened her eyes, she was greeted by the roar of waves crashing against the small stretch of beach that belonged to her house. Her aunt, a sister of her mother, and her husband, who had also moved from Lāna'i to O'ahu, had found this little house in Kailua for her and Keanu. It was a square, two-storey, bright building with a bathroom, a guest toilet, four rooms and a large kitchen. A room on the first floor they had chosen immediately as a bureau, because even though they had official offices near the Joint Base Pearl Harbour-Hickam, they knew they would also often work at home. They were also very much in agreement with the choice of the living room, for this was the largest room on the ground floor, filling almost half of this floor, and had access to the terrace, as did the kitchen. The kitchen had a large window front and a door leading out to the terrace that extended over the entire back.  
Like Leilani's room, the last free room on the ground floor, the veranda had a fantastic view of the beach and the ocean. Keanu had moved to the back room on the upper floor. He wanted to be able to see the Kawainui Regional Park, because even if he liked to be on the beach, it was important for him not to be awakened by the rising sun. 

Smiling, Leilani remembered the arrival at Honolulu International Airport. Her mother's family had been almost completely present. Three uncles and two aunts had appeared with their spouses and children to welcome them. It had been loud and cheerful. Just like the subsequent move into their new domicile. Full of enthusiasm the siblings had thrown their thick winter clothes into the storeroom under the stairs. In Hawaii they would not really need them.  
When her alarm clock sounded the first note, Leilani turned it off, got up and went to the window. Typical Hawaii weather radiated to her. Perfect to go swimming, shot her through the head. Quickly she exchanged sleep shorts and top against her bathing suit, tied her brown hair together and left the house towards the beach.

When she came out of the water about three-quarters of an hour later, Keanu waited for her with a towel.  
“Morning, lil’, go for a shower, breakfast is to go. Assistant Director Granger just called. We already have the first case.”  
Leilani nodded and fifteen minutes later she and Keanu sat in their car.  
“Any information?” The young woman asked.  
“Mrs. Margaret Wolfe, 39, was found dead by the neighbour who wanted to pick her up for yoga.”  
“Why are we responsible?”  
“She is the wife of Marine Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Wolfe.”  
Leilani nodded understandingly. The families of Marine Corps or Navy members also fell under their jurisdiction.  
“Is he suspicious?” Leilani took a sip of her coffee, which had already been waiting for her in a thermo mug in the kitchen and grimaced. Her brother simply could not cook coffee, at least not as she liked it.  
“Only when he is AWOL,” Keanu said grinning; of course her reaction had not escaped him. “His unit is currently on duty. But…”  
“But we will still check,” added Leilani nodding.

When they arrived in front of Wolfes' house, there were cars of the MP as well as one of Honolulu PD on the side of the road. The siblings got out and took the equipment for trace evidence analysis from the trunk and entered the house. Without saying anything, they held their IDs to the MP and were let to the crime scene.  
“Did Granger mention how this should work with ME and forensics?” Leilani asked her brother as she looked around the room.  
“That is why the colleague from the HPD is still here. We need to rely on their resources because the NCIS does not have its own laboratory.”  
She grumbled, but could tell from her brother’s voice that he too was not particularly enthusiastic about it.  
“Well,” she sighed, “we're trying to make the best of it. You start with the photos. When you're done with it ...”  
“Take care of the sketches.”  
“Exactly, this leaves evidences and corpses for me.”  
Her brother grinned at her broadly and draped the camera around. “You like the unappetizing things, just admit it.”  
She looked doubtfully at him, but then started to collect evidences, while doing so she moved circularly from the outside to the inside. Closer to the corpse.

Leilani knelt beside the corpse, looking at it. Mrs. Wolfe had been a good-looking woman in her end-thirties, who had kept herself in shape with different kind of sports. Her blond hair was already traversed by a few grey strands, which did not particularly notice. The murderer had placed her in the middle of the living room with her arms crossed over her chest and eyes closed. The hands lay so that the deadly wound was hidden. If it had not been the blood that stained her peach-coloured T-shirt, then you could have really believed that Mrs. Wolfe was only asleep.  
“Lei, I've finished the photos and sketches.”  
She nodded and stretched out her hands to loosen the body's arms. She had to take a closer look at the wound.  
“What do you think you're doing?” She suddenly was snapped at.  
Leilani turned her head and saw two men standing in the door to the living room. The taller one had dark hair and looked at her piercingly from blue eyes. Through his clothes, consisting of cargo trousers and polo shirt, he clearly distinguished himself from his companion, who was wearing suit trousers and shirt.  
She stood up carefully, handing her brother the suitcase with the evidence.  
“Take that into the car. I clarify this.”  
Keanu nodded and left the house.  
“Who are you?” Asked the larger of the two.  
Leilani folded her arms in front of her chest and looked seriously at the two men.  
“NCIS, this is our crime scene and who are you?”  
“Commander Steve McGarrett and that does not answer my question,” said the larger one and assumed an attitude that resembled hers completely.  
“I think so. So far, it may not have happened so often, but the NCIS in Hawaii is fully operational again and therefore all crimes related to the US Navy or the US Marine Corps are being processed by me and my partner or one of our colleagues. Should it be necessary, we will draw on the Criminal Laboratory of the HPD and the ME.”  
“I…”  
“And if you are thinking of calling the Governor and complaining about it, then you should know that we are here on the orders of Secretary of the Navy Clayton Jarvis and NCIS Director Leon Vance. So, whatever you're going through right now, you will not succeed.” She looked behind her again to the corpse, but she would only get further insights through the autopsy. “Since you are here, it would be very friendly if you guard the crime scene until the ME is here and tell him we need a thorough and complete autopsy.”  
She wanted to get past the two men, but was held by the arm.

When Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett parked the Camaro on the roadside, he frowned. In front of the house stood a patrol car of the HPD and a car on which large and distinct MP was to be read. The third car was extremely noticeable. A dark blue 2010 Shelby GT500. Did he belong to the Wolfes? Or to a neighbour? And what did the MP do here?  
His partner looked around, confused. Where were the forensics and the car of the ME?  
Together they got out and went to the house.  
“Good morning, Commander McGarrett, Detective Williams. Just go inside. The others are already at work,” they were welcomed by the HPD officer.  
“The others?” Danny asked, confused.  
“Yes, the Federal Agents.”  
“Federal Agents?” Asked McGarrett and Williams synchronously, which was confirmed by the MP and the officer with a nod.  
They hurried into the house and watched a man with half-length dark brown hair move through the room, photographing and sketching everything. The other person was a slender woman with slightly brighter, but also brown hair, her forehead lined with thoughtful folds, kneeling beside the corpse.  
“Lei, I've finished the photos and sketches.”  
The woman nodded but did not look up. Then she stretched out her hands toward the corpse. This action resulted in Steve getting moving.  
“What do you think you're doing?!” he snapped.  
The woman looked up and Steve realized she had Hawaiian facial features and amazingly bright eyes. Eyes that looked serious at both of them. After she had risen, she reached for the silver suitcase that was standing next to her and handed it to her partner.  
“Take that into the car. I clarify this.”  
The man nodded and looked briefly at Steve and Danny as he passed them. Steve looked back at the woman who was concentrating on him and his partner.  
“Who are you?”  
“NCIS, this is our crime scene and who are you?”  
Steve shook his head and crossed his arms in front of his chest; a position that also the woman had.  
“Commander Steve McGarrett and that does not answer my question,” Steve said, noting how it slowly began to boil inside him. This woman irritated him. She was quite brazen and he felt that as disrespectful. She smelled of anger, and that exited him, even if it could be quite charming.  
“I think so. So far, it may not have happened so often, but the NCIS in Hawaii is fully operational again and therefore all crimes related to the US Navy or the US Marine Corps are being processed by me and my partner or one of our colleagues. Should it be necessary, we will draw on the Criminal Laboratory of the HPD and the ME.”  
The woman's slight arrogant response made Steve speechless. Nobody told him on his island what he had to do and that was why he wanted to pull his biggest trump card.  
“I…”  
“And if you are thinking of calling the Governor and complaining about it, then you should know that we are here on the orders of Secretary of the Navy Clayton Jarvis and NCIS Director Leon Vance. So, whatever you're going through right now, you will not succeed.”  
She had exactly noticed what he had wanted to say, and had therefore directly blocked this possibility. She looked back at the corpse once more, then nodded and looked hard at Steve.  
“Since you are here, it would be very friendly if you guard the crime scene until the ME is here. And tell him we need a thorough and complete autopsy.”  
That really was the limit. If this young thing thought she could give him orders, to tell him on his island, what he had to do. This would completely out of the question!  
She tried to move past him and Danny, but he held her by the arm. Her eyes wandered from his face to her arm and back, with a cold expression.  
“If I were you, I'd take that hand away very quickly.”  
“And if not?”  
“Well, do you hang on your hand? If this is the case, it will disappear from my arm the fastest you can or you will lose it.”  
There was a smile on Danny's face. He could not tell why, but somehow he liked the young woman and admired her courage. Because not many people dared talk to Steve like that.  
“Now listen to me, Miss. I have no idea who you are, but if you think I'm going to let a raw beginner tell me what I have to do, you've really made a big mistake.”  
“To be clear, I am Special Agent of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and this is by far not my first crime scene. Just because you are head of the Governors Special Task Force you are not omnipotent. You may be endowed with such great things as immunity and free hand, but your jurisdiction has boundaries and I will not hesitate to make sure you keep this limit as of now.”  
“We'll see,” Steve snorted, his voice shaking with anger.  
“Of course we will!” She looked back and forth between the two men. “If you excuse me now, gentlemen, I still have to work and woe betides you if you contaminate the corpse!”  
So she left the house, went to the Shelby and got in. Steve and Danny looked after her in wonder, not sure what to think of the young woman and her very self-confident appearance.


	3. Meet the Shaws, Pt. 2

“What do you have, Kono?”  
Steve looked expectantly at the young Hawaiian when he and Danny entered the office, but she looked confused.  
“Uh, Boss? We don’t have a case.”  
“He means the two NCIS agents who dared to pee at Rambo’s leg,” Danny grinned.  
“Oh.” Kono smiled as well, and because she had already heard that there was reinforcement for the NCIS office, she had informed herself, and so quickly tapped something on the touchscreen, which had been let into the table top of the big table. Immediately the image of Leilani appeared. “Special Agent Leilani Shaw, in her early thirties. She graduated as the best of her year at an elite high school in Atlanta; subsequently Annapolis, focusing on Asian and Arabic languages and natural sciences. Was Lieutenant of the US Navy when honourably released four years ago. Afterwards training as NCIS Agent, recently stationed at the headquarters in Washington.”  
“And the guy?”  
A few clicks later, Keanu's picture appeared.  
“Special Agent Keanu Shaw, also in the early thirties. Is Leilani's twin, not the husband. He did his high school graduation with only five points less than his sister. He went also to Annapolis, however with the emphasis on chemistry and technical informatics. He was First Lieutenant of the US Marine Corps and has also been released four years ago. Went like his sister to the NCIS and formed there a team with her.”  
“And what are they doing in Hawaii?”  
“They were born here. More specifically on Lāna'i, but lived on O'ahu until they were teenagers. Which is probably the reason why they were transferred here.”  
Steve looked thoughtfully at the two pictures.  
“What did they do during their military career?”  
Kono shook his head. “This is classified.”  
“Then unlock the files!”  
Kono laughed. “Boss, not even your security clearance is high enough to view these files.”  
Danny breathed with a horrified expression, fully aware of the meaning of this statement.  
“Do we have about two more of Steve's format on the island? Poor Hawaii.”  
“Do the islands suddenly mean something to you?” Kono asked, feigning, because the aversion of the blond to the islands was more than known. But this one just waved and looked at his partner thoughtfully.  
“What are you doing now, Steve?”  
He turned his eyes back to the two photos, but he was more focused on Leilani.  
“We'll keep an eye on them.”

“What an ass!” Leilani shouted, stamping against the wall in her office. “So arrogant and overbearing! Keanu, tell me that you have information about him.”  
Her brother nodded and sent some data from his PC to the large screen on the wall of their workspace.  
“Steven J. McGarrett, born in O'ahu, moving to the mainland at the age of 17. Why I can’t tell you exactly. Finished Annapolis as best of his year, nearly direct after that he joined Navy SEAL training. He stayed with the troops six years, four of them in Afghanistan, subsequently Navy Intelligence Service. During this time he spent five years hunting behind a pair of brothers, almost pursuing the whole world. He has captured the younger, Anton, in North Korea. The elder, Victor, was at O'ahu at the same time and murdered McGarrett's father. He was then appointed head of Five-0 by the late Governor Jameson, originally to capture his father's murderers and free the islands from organized crime. Five-0 has full immunity and free hand. That means, they can do and leave what they want. Even if the new Governor has asked for a little more control. Oh, and the funniest thing about the whole,” Keanu hesitated briefly and a crooked grin crept on his face, “he's Lieutenant Commander. So stands by the rang above the two of us, and he has served with Hanna.”  
Leilani ran through her hair and took a deep breath.  
“Sam Hanna? Great.” She sighed as she remembered the dark-skinned agent of the OSP in L.A., with whom she had been forced to work together some time ago. But that was not important at the moment. “His team?”  
Further data appeared.  
“That consists mainly of cops. The SiC is Detective Daniel Williams, originally from Jersey ...”  
“A Haole?” Leilani asked, shocked. Even though she had not been to Hawaii for a long time, the aversion to Haoles, as the non-natives were called, was something that was not easy to give up.  
“Not just one. The second is Officer Lori Weston, formerly Homeland Security. The other two of his team are from here: Lieutenant Chin Ho Kelly and Officer Kono Kalakaua; both from the Honolulu PD.” Leilani sat down, crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked thoughtfully at the big screen. “Lei, what are you up to?” Keanu tilted his head and waited for a decision. The brunette took a deep breath and then turned to face him.  
“We do our work. But if Five-0 gets us in the way again, they will get to know me.”  
Keanu flinched, for he knew how his sister could be when she was upset. An outbreak of the Kīlauea was absolutely harmless in comparison with that.

 

“Agent Shaw? I'm Charlie Fong. I was told you had evidence to examine.”  
Keanu nodded, handing the bags of traces that Leilani had collected to the young Asian, who had greeted him at the entrance to the labs. After Leilani’s little tantrums in the office, the siblings had split up. They had gone to the city together, but while Leilani was to look in the MEs office, Keanu had gone to the crime lab.  
“These are the traces we found on the body and in the house. Of course it can be that more emerges during the autopsy.”  
Charlie nodded and waved Keanu to follow him to a table that was completely empty except for a few appliances.  
“We have already been informed about the new conditions. This table is now NCIS area,” he said with a grin. “Shouldn’t I be there, just leave new tracks on the left, the results I will deposit here on the right.”  
“Sounds good,” Keanu nodded, then turned to go. “I have to go back.”  
“Trying to keep your partner from clashing with McGarrett?” Charlie asked with a crooked smile.  
“You know about it?” Keanu asked in amazement.  
“Almost all the HPD knows about it,” his counterpart smirked. “A young female agent from the mainland, a native Hawaiian, puts Commander Steve McGarrett in his place? This has spread like a wildfire.”  
The agent shook his head with a sigh. “She will so not like it!”

Leilani entered the ME building and frowned as she heard piano music. However, she was already used to a lot by the encounters with the criminal technician Abby Sciuto. She walked toward the room from which the music came and saw a young, slightly chubby man sitting at a piano.  
“Excuse me, are you Dr Bergmann? Max Bergmann?”  
He stood up and turned around. Leilani frowned. Because of his name, she had not expected Max Bergmann to be of Asian origin.  
“Uh ... Hello ... And ...” he stammered slightly, which caused a slight smile to appear on Leilani’s face.  
“Special Agent Leilani Shaw, I am here for Mrs. Margaret Wolfe’s autopsy.”  
He understood, meant her to follow him, and went to an autopsy table with the body of Mrs. Wolfe covered with a sheet. He folded back the fabric a bit, uncovering the wound on her chest.  
“Mrs. Wolfe did not die as one might suspect on the basis of the strong blood loss. A pointed object has penetrated into her breast, has severed the aorta and also injured the left ventricle. This led to the immediate death that happened between three and four this morning. I made an imprint of the wound canal and sent it to the lab. In addition, I discovered some spores and fibres on her, but they could come from the ground on which she lay. The lab will tell us more.”  
“Something else remarkable?”  
The pathologist shook his head, but immediately nodded it and added, “The victim shows no signs of defences.”  
“She was attacked frontally and did not fight?” Leilani asked in surprise, which caused him to nod again.  
“That aroused in me the suspicion that she was sedated before, but she could also have known her attacker. However, the tox-screen results are still pending. In conclusion, I can only say, had not their life been terminated prematurely, then Mrs. Wolfe would have had many years left.”  
“So we do not have anything,” Leilani said annoyed. Her tone made the young ME twitched, but she did not care. Other things were more important! “If you have anything else, call me.”  
With this she left the pathology.

When Keanu came back from the crime lab, his sister was already sitting at her desk, digging through documents.  
“How did you get here?” He asked, confused.  
“Walked“, was the short answer he received.  
“And what is that?” He pointed to the stack of paper.  
“Service files and operational reports.”  
Keanu sat down at his desk, facing her, looking at her questioningly. “Whose?”  
“Five-0 in general, McGarrett in particular, and also from Gunnery Sergeant Wolfe.”  
Keanu's eyes tightened. “I understand the review of Wolfe. We have to determine whether he is AWOL or not. But why Five-0?”  
Leilani sighed, straightened a strand of hair from her face and then pressed her arms on the table before her.  
“I just want to know who we're dealing with, and more than the basics you've delivered. I could have figured that out in a few seconds. I want to know more. Know how they think, how they act and what they do. So you have a good time with Wolfe, little brother. I'll take Five-0.”  
Keanu shook his head, but knew that there was nothing to discuss with his sister when she was in that mood; especially when she described him as her little brother. He was ten centimetres larger than Leilani, but she had been born twenty minutes before him, a circumstance which she rubbed under his nose from time to time. So he grabbed Wolfe’s service record, but looked up again before he deepened into it.  
“What has the autopsy revealed?”  
“Either Mrs. Wolfe was sedated or she knew her attacker. Tox is still due.”  
Keanu nodded and then deepened into Wolfe's file, while his sister made an accurate profile of all Five-0 members.

Leilani just finished the last Five-0 file, got up to get a coffee for herself and her brother when his cell phone rang.  
“Shaw ... What? When did he leave? ... And you could not tell us that sooner? … Yeah, sure. Marines always stick together. Listen, Colonel. I am also a Marine and in my time we knew when to go to our superiors and when not and a comrade who is unauthorized away from the troops is a damn good reason! ... Yes, I am also sorry. Especially for your people, because if this non-proliferation of information has caused someone’s death, then I will blame you for it!” Keanu hanged up and threw the phone on the table. “You are not going to believe it,” he turned to his sister, “Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Wolfe had left for Hawaii four days ago. He told his comrades that he has an emergency in the family and that he would have to leave. They have covered it, instead of wondering why he just flight the coop and his boss was not aware of the absence.”  
“Really?” She dropped back to her desk chair. “Marines, I always say it: they are really the worst of all!”  
“Hey!” it came played indignantly from Keanu, on which his sister only grinned. “But what do we do now?”  
Leilani thought for a moment and then ran through her hair.  
“We need to find out how Wolfe came to Hawaii and where he's currently staying. He can’t go home because that's still a crime scene. So money traces, phone calls, SMS. We take his life apart and then we grab the crap.”

“BOOM!” Keanu shouted, jumped up and stretched his arms in victory pose. “Who is the best?”  
Leilani looked up at him, an eyebrow questioningly raised.  
“May I conclude from your more than unqualified outburst that you found our suspect?”  
“He just bought something to eat with his credit card at the Aloha Tower. How stupid can one be? Paying with a credit while on escape? You just don’t do that!”  
Leilani rose and took her gun and badge from the desk drawer.  
“Just give Wolfe the tip after we have caught him. But now let’s go we've really dawdled around enough.”

A quarter of an hour later, the siblings sat in their car on the roadside and watched the people who were at the Aloha Tower. With a trained look one could recognize exactly who served, who was local and who was a tourist. In the case of the military, it was also relatively easy to identify the differences between the individual groups of troops, as long as they were known. Therefore, it was also easy for Keanu and Leilani to concentrate only on the Marines.  
“Perhaps he is not there anymore,” said Leilani, with a slight doubt in her voice. “After all, you drove at a snail’s pace.”  
“Snail’s pace? Excuse me? Just because not everyone has such a suicidal driving style as you, Gibbs or Ziva, we are not directly snails.”  
Leilani made a waving hand gesture with her right, just as if she was stifling all the arguments of her brother in the bud. She stared straighter through the front window. As soon as the sun had sunk, their chances of finding Wolfe would be almost zero. She wanted to turn to her brother and offer the next charge of coffee, as a hand was put on her thigh.  
“Tell me, is that he?” With his free hand, her brother pointed through the window on his side to a man who was estimated to be in his early to mid-forties, whose black hair had been cut in the usual Marine haircut and already got a little grey at the temples. Leilani took the photo from Wolfe's official record and compared it to the man Keanu pointed out.  
“Yes, he is,” she finally confirmed.  
“Well then, let’s go.”  
Together the twins got out and approached Thomas Wolfe from two sides. If everything went according to their plan, they could capture him without any danger to the bystanders.

But of course not everything went according to their plan. When did that ever happen?  
Wolfe stowed something in the backpack that he had with him when the sunlight was inconveniently reflected on Keanu's badge, which he wore on his belt. This reflection beamed exactly in Wolfe's face, drawing attention to the two agents who were approaching him. Leilani could hear the curse Wolfe emitted when he saw her brother, so she tried to reach him through the crowd faster as he turned around and ran away.  
“Shit!” Keanu uttered out and pushed through the crowd toward the older one.  
Leilani loved Hawaii, she really loved the islands. But running behind a suspect was a lot easier if you did not have couples who took a walk in the sunset, teenagers on the way back from surfing and just crowds of sunbathers in your way and have to fight through sand. She uttered a curse between her teeth when she noticed that Wolfe's lead was getting bigger and bigger.  
“What the hell are you Marines getting to eat?”  
Keanu laughed at the InEar.  
“Envious, my dear sister? I thought you Navy Intelligence guys have to keep you fit either.”  
“Shut out and step on it,” she growled, trying to catch up with Wolfe, but he seemed to have a kind of seventh sense and also accelerated his steps. At the last moment, Leilani ducked under a surfboard that appeared in front of her, stumbling almost over the rucksack of the board owner. “Can’t you be careful?” She snapped, then straightened her attention again. “Gunnery Sergeant Wolfe! NCIS! Stay there!”  
But this exclamation animated him only to run even faster. Leilani's face twitched with anger. Why did everyone just run away when they heard NCIS? Didn’t they guess that they only made themselves more suspicious? Apparently not. “Keanu, it's really time that you help me! So where are you?” She hissed over radio. She always had to do all the work!  
At that moment, her brother came from the side and with a skilful tackle he tore Wolfe to the ground. He bent his arms on his back and applied handcuffs to him.  
“Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Wolfe, I hereby arrest you for the murder of your wife Margaret Wolfe.” Then he got up and pulled Wolfe on his legs. “That's how you do it, little sister,” he smirked triumphantly when Leilani had arrived with them.  
“I haven’t done it,” Wolfe said angrily, which triggered in response a raised eyebrow of Leilani.  
“If I get a dollar every time a suspect makes this saying, I'd be really rich,” Keanu replied, leading Wolfe toward the car. “You are AWOL. You run away from your company, just at the time when your wife is murdered. You recognize the strange circumstances?”  
When they reached their car, they put Wolfe to the back seat.  
“To the base?” Keanu asked, looking questioningly at his sister over the cars roof.  
Leilani munched on her lower lip, thinking.  
“Too far away,” she replied. “Even though I am reluctant to admit it, we have to rely on the resources of the local authorities more quickly than thought.”  
“Five-0?” Keanu slowly delved.  
“Five-0,” Leilani answered and entered the car.

“Uh, Boss, can I disturb you?”  
Steve looked up from the file of an old case when Kono appeared in his office door.  
“What is?”  
The young Hawaiian woman seemed a bit unsure, not knowing exactly whether she should go to Steve with the information she had just received.  
“You asked me to find out more about the Shaw’s.”  
“And?” Steve's blue eyes were penetrating.  
“So, I still could not access the service files, but I could at least find out about Leilani that she was Navy Intelligence Service.” Kono ran across her neck and prepared for Steve reaction. “And besides, she and her brother are on their way to us.”  
“What?” Steve jumped up and leaned on the desk. “Why should they be?”  
“No idea, I just got a call from the HPD. It seems to be urgent.”  
Steve slipped past the young woman and ran without looking at Danny, who had just come out of his office, out of the headquarters.  
“What had just bitten him?” Danny turned questioningly to Kono, who looked thoughtfully at her boss.  
“The Shaws are coming.”  
“That I have to see,” Danny grinned, following his partner.

Steve and Danny watched how the dark blue Shelby GT500 parked in the parking lot in front of the headquarters. First Keanu stepped out, keeping an eye on the environment, while Leilani, after leaving the car, pulled the suspect out of the back seat. Danny looked closely at their movements and actions and then leaned toward Steve, “I know you do not want to hear that, but they seem to know what they're doing.”  
“No word!” growled Steve, his eyes still focused on the Shaws.  
Leilani led the man - a hand in his neck, one on the handcuffs - toward the building, while her brother continued to scan the environment. Danny was sure that the male Shaw would hardly notice his behaviour, which seemed to be already passed into his flesh and blood. When Leilani spotted Steve and Danny, a cold smile crept on her face. That was just great.  
“You don’t mind, do you?” Leilani asked as she nudged the tied man into the back and led him past Steve.  
“What is that?” He muttered.  
“Well, I have a suspect that I need to interrogate and your premises were just close by.” Her smile remained as cool as before and she marched on.  
“Someday,” he said, his teeth twitching, after the twins had disappeared.  
“What is then?” Danny asked.  
“Someday I will either throw her into the Kīlauea or feed on to a horde of sharks,” came it from Steve.  
“Or ...” Danny said slowly, “you bury your differences wherever they may come from, and Hawaii has Mr. and Mrs. Rambo as protectors.”  
“That…,” Steve glanced at him. “That will never happen, Danno.” With these words he turned and went back to the office.

Through their research earlier the day, the siblings knew exactly where the interrogation room of Five-0 was in the building and therefore they took Gunnery Sergeant Wolfe directly into the cellar. When they reached the room, Keanu pushed him into the chair, which stood in the middle, while Leilani closed the door, then turned to the two men with arms folded in front of her chest.

For an uninvolved observer it seemed as if Steve was simply breeding over the reports. In truth his computer was adjusted to the camera of the interrogation room and he watched the twins as they started to question Thomas Wolfe. Something was with Leilani Shaw that kept his thoughts busy. He could not exactly name it, but she had something on herself. With this riddle, however, he would deal at a later date. Now it was time to figure out how good the twins really were.

“So Gunnery Sergeant Wolfe, why are you on O'ahu?”  
“Family reasons,” he said, with a slight defiance in his voice.  
“Oh really?” Leilani asked sarcastically. “No one has ever described the murder of his wife that way.”  
“I have not killed my wife!”  
“Really?” Keanu interposed. “You have been unauthorized away from the troops. Just the moment your wife is killed. In addition, our pathologist has found out that your wife did not fight against her attacker. This can only mean two things: either your wife was stunned before the actual act, or she knew her aggressor.”  
“I haven’t done it,” Wolfe repeated.  
“Of course” Leilani drew the word exaggerated. “Did you hear, Keanu? He hasn’t done it.”  
The young agent pretended to be laughing, but then straighten up before Wolfe.  
“Look at it, the facts speak one hundred percent against you!”  
“But I haven’t done it!” The Gunnery Sergeant wanted to jump up, but was pushed back onto the chair by Leilani.  
“Wolfe, don’t make it so difficult. If you now confess, we will tell the JAG lawyers that you have fully cooperated. This can only benefit you.”

In his office, Steve sat up in his chair, curious about how Wolfe would react.

“How often should I say it? I love my wife and would never have done anything to her! I have not killed her!”  
“Assuming that you really didn’t commit the crime, then why are you AWOL? Do you have an explanation for that?”  
Wolfe took a deep breath and then sighed. “My daughter called me a few days ago.”  
“Daughter? Are you trying to shit us, Wolfe? You don’t have a daughter.”  
The older man sighed again and confessed, “I thought so too. But before ... Margaret and I only have been married for almost ten years. Before that I was with my girlfriend from high school. But out of the blue she broke it off with me about fifteen years ago. I had no idea at that time that her parents wanted it and neither that she was pregnant from me. I do not even think she knew it. My daughter tracked me down, or rather, her lawyer. My ex died two weeks ago within a car accident and I seem to be the only living relative Ashley has. Even if I know it was wrong to get out of the squad like I did, but what could I have done?”  
Keanu gave his sister an uncertain look, which she answered with a snort.  
“Do you really think we're so stupid and believe this lame excuse?” She asked, an eyebrow sceptically raised.  
“This is not a lame excuse!” Wolfe straightened up and glared at her angrily. “Call in L.A. The attorney's number is in my wallet!”  
Leilani closed her eyes briefly and then made a jerking head movement in the direction of her brother. He went to the table next to the door where they had laid down Wolfe's belongings and searched through them. When he had taken a small green note from the wallet, he showed it Wolfe with a questioning look.  
“Yes, that it is,” he replied with a nod.  
“I'm calling then,” Keanu said, leaving the room.

“Boss?” As Kono tapped at his office door, Steve quickly turned off the sound of his computer and looked up.  
“What?” He inquired snotty.  
“The HPD just called. We have a case.”  
Steve nodded, rose with a last look at the screen and then followed his team out of the building.

 


	4. Second murder

When Steve parked the Camaro on the roadside of the crime scene, everything looked exactly as he expected it. Both the van of the ME and the crime lab were parked on the other side of the road, and several patrol cars of the HPD kept the spectators away. The four of them went to the small, light-blue house.  
“When will Lori return,” Kono asked as she put on the latex gloves and then checked the seat of the badge on her belt.  
“The doctor said that during the course of the week she could at least walk around a bit,” Steve replied as he ducked under the yellow barrier tape, “and then she will be kept by nothing and nobody away from the headquarters.”  
Kono grinned, and Danny could not resist a delicate distortion of his mouth. As he had prophesied on Lori's first day, after she had arranged herself with Steve, she had become an incredible asset to the team. Especially through her experience as a profiler for the FBI, they have often found suspects or deleted people faster from their list than without her support. It was more than unfortunate that she had twisted her ankle in combat training, and especially Steve, who had been her training partner on that day, had long reproached himself.  
Actually, the team was just waiting for the two of them to finally stand up to the fact that they even privately fit together perfectly, although Danny was not so sure anymore. One could explain Steve's behaviour towards Leilani with his aversion to other authorities, but the blond investigator did not believe that. In addition, Kono had given away to him with a more than broad grin on the face that Steve had logged in to the interrogation room cameras, while the siblings had been inside with the Gunny. But if you would try to talk to Steve, you would either get his patented ice-look as a reaction, or such a muddled military sentence, that sometimes you really had to wonder if Steve actually believed what he was saying from time to time.  
Together with Kono Danny entered the small house, while Chin was already in the process of questioning the victim's friend, who had also found the dead.  
When Danny had arrived in the room that took the entire ground floor, he drew his forehead into thoughtful folds. The scene seemed accursed familiar to him. The victim, a young, blonde woman, lay in the middle of the room, her arms crossed on her chest, and her eyes tightly closed. If it were not a fine red trace that went in the direction of the back and interfered with the pure white of her T-shirt, you could have really thought she was only asleep. Mrs. Wolfe had looked completely the same. The similarity of the scenery was so serious that Danny could not help but cough slightly, which gave him a forceful look from Steve. Of course his boss had already noticed the similarity of the crime scenes, but that could well be a coincidence. Just because the victims were both feminine, both blonde and placed in the same way, did not mean they were dealing with the same perpetrator. Even if it was more than rare, coincidences could happen in murder; while Danny did not want to believe it.  
“What do we have here, Max?”  
Steve stood next to the young pathologist, who was already examining the corpse, and looked at him questioningly.  
“Her name is Jennifer McKegan, 29 years old. According to the liver measurement, she is dead between 36 and 48 hours. The cause of death was the puncture in the chest. By the way, the only injury Miss McKegan has.”  
“Thank you, Max.” Steve was about to turn away when the young pathologist stopped him.  
“Um, Commander McGarrett? So, of course, I have to do an exact autopsy and of course make a cast of the wound canal, but so far it all points to the fact that she died under the same circumstances as Mrs. Wolfe, the victim of the NCIS.”  
Steve folded his arms in front of his chest and his gaze grew even colder.  
“Means?”  
“Of course, everything can be just a coincidence. I'll check that out, of course, but the possibility exists,” Max hurried to say, feeling more than uncomfortable. Steve took a look at the young man, then turned and wanted to leave the house. When he arrived at Kono and Danny, who were still standing in the doorway, he noticed his partner’s broad grin and hissed at him from clenched teeth: “Zip it, Danno. No comment!”  
This one raised his hands, still wide grinning.  
“I'm not saying anything; never intended to.”  
After a dubious look, Steve left the house and let the forensics do their work.

In front of the house Steve joined Chin who was still talking to the victim's friend.  
“Steve, this is William Jennings.”  
“Mr. Jennings, my sincere condolences.”  
The young man was tall, had dark-blond slightly tousled hair and dark-green eyes. His whole attitude and his outfit made him look like a typical surfer. He nodded slowly, his eyes wandering again and again to the open door, and even from this distance the flash-lights from the cameras of the forensics could be seen. Steve changed slightly his position that Jennings did not see what was happening in the house.  
“Mr. Jennings, I'm sorry to ask you, but it's routine. Where were you last night?”  
Jennings ran through his hair and sighed.  
“I shouldn’t be here today at all. I was at the Gold Coast yesterday.”  
“Are you taking part in the ASP tour?” Steve asked, knowing that the international surfing elite were currently for a competition in Australia.  
“No, not really. Jen always said I should finally look for a real job, but I'm not so 9 to 5 type, if you understand. I tried to find sponsors for my clothes on the ASP.”  
Steve and Chin exchanged a quick look that completely escaped William Jennings. This gesture expressed exactly what the two thought. In this relationship probably not everything had been all moonlight and roses. But it would certainly not be a good idea to go on it now, they both knew.  
“And Jennifer? What did she do?”  
“Jen is ... was an industrial business management assistant. She has worked for Millson Ltd.” He noticed the questioning faces of the investigators and shrugged. “Never said anything to me before either. This is a big company from the mainland. What exactly they do, I never understood, even if Jen tried to explain it to me a hundred times.”  
“Jennifer was not from here?”  
Jennings shook his head.  
“No, she's from the east coast. She grew up in Richmond, I think her parents still live there.” He shrugged again. “I should know that, right?”  
Another quick exchange of view between Chin and Steve, then the Hawaiian addressed the word to Jennings.  
“What exactly did Jennifer do on O'ahu?”  
“Her boss is planning some big thing, no idea what exactly. But he sent Jen here to investigate the situation, whatever that may meant. When I heard that, I thought to myself that this was a great opportunity and came with her.”  
“Steve!”  
The three men looked at the house and when they saw Kono waving, Jennings’s eyes grew wide.  
“Is this Kono Kalakaua? Oh man, I always wanted to meet her. Is she still friends with Ben Bass?”  
Chin gave the young man a side view, which immediately silenced him. Steve tried it a little less subtle.  
“Thank you, Mr. Jennings. Should we still have questions, we will come back to you. Do you have anything where you can go?”  
“Dude, we're in Hawaii. I'll grab my board and move me to the beach.”  
So he turned, looking at Kono a last time, and went to an old rickety jeep, on which a surfboard was strapped.  
“What a guy,” Chin said incredulously as he and Steve returned to the house. “I think we'll see him again.”  
“Guys like him are the reason some people think surfers are brainless pot-heads,” Steve explained.  
“But it fitted him,” Chins replied. Steve shook his head, then looked at Kono questioningly. “What's up?”  
“Max is ready to take the corpse away and the forensics is also ready. Could the friend say something?”  
“Only that he tried to create his own surfing brand, the victim not so happy with him was and that she worked for a company from the mainland.”  
“What? He wants to compete with Coral Prince? Well then good luck,” Kono said with an oblique grin, which was also on the faces of the others. Coral Prince was simply the brand on the island and to get against it one had to have damned good luck and an even better plan and both did certainly not apply to William Jennings.  
“I think it will be best to go back to the HQ. Kono, you and Chin try to reach someone from Millson Ltd., the company for which Jennifer McKegan has worked. Maybe they can provide us with better information. Danny, you call her parents because I doubt Jennings will do that.”  
“And what will you do, Steven? Going to Hickham?” The blond cop asked with a crooked smile.  
“Why should I?” Steve questioned.  
“Oh, I don’t know,” Danny fluted slowly. “Perhaps because the murders could be related? Because Max has already found a similarity of the circumstances of death in a superficial investigation? And when did he ever make a mistake? So I am sure that it is good manners that if two authorities are looking for the same offender, then the resources are bundled. So to speak working hand-in-hand that the perpetrator can be caught more quickly and be sent to his just punishment.”  
“What do you mean, Danno?” Steve stood with his arms crossed in front of his partner and glared at the smaller one from above. The other members of Five-0 shook their heads. It was clear to them all, what would happen to them if Steve continued to be so stubborn.  
“According to the regulations, you must at least inform the Shaws that we also have a victim and that there is the possibility that they were killed by the same perpetrator,” Chin interfered in the conversation.  
“I don’t think so.” With that Steve turned around, went to the Camaro and got in. Danny followed his partner shrugging. This could be getting very amusing.

After Keanu had called in Los Angeles and coincidently reaching the attorney in his office, he had confirmed the statement from Gunnery Sergeant Wolfe regarding his daughter. This meant that they were back at the very beginning of their investigation. After they had said good-bye to Wolfe, they were standing in front of Five-0's headquarters and looked questioningly at each other.  
“What are you going to do now, Leilani?”  
The young woman ran through her hair and sighed.  
“I think the best will be when we go home. We can there also start a request for similar events. Maybe we'll get new clues.”  
Keanu nodded cautiously and went to the car. The fact that Wolfe had left unauthorized they would have to note and the Gunny would still have to cope with the result, but he was simply not their perpetrator. On the way to Kailua the siblings were silent and stuck to their thoughts until Keanu interrupted the silence: “What do you think who did it? I mean life partners always give a good suspect.”  
“I know, but only by the fact how Mrs. Wolfe was found, I do not believe it was a crime of passion. The room was too clean, there were simply too few traces left for a relationship related crime.”  
Keanu nodded approvingly and left Kailua Road into Kalaheo Avenue. Shortly after, he turned right into the narrow street, at which end their house was and a wide grin appeared on his face. There was a dark blue Shelby GT500 parked on the street, just in front of their doorstep, identical to the one they were sitting in.  
“Hey little sister looks as if your bleating about your lack of flexibility had succeeded.”  
Leilani raised her head, saw the car and grinned as wide as her brother.  
“You know, sometimes I can just smooch Vance.”  
Keanu allowed himself a short laugh because his sister normally was on bad terms with NCIS director. Their views were just too different. Leilani was a character who tended to clash with his superiors. She was a cross-thinker, who was only too willing to leave the prescribed tracks and Vance? That was the complete opposite: always mindful of the regulations and always controlled. But if it had to be, one could rely unconditionally on each of them.  
Keanu parked his car right behind his sister’s and they went together to the house. In the mailbox there was an envelope with the key for the second car and a short message from a more than grateful NCIS employee from the office in LA. He had been given the honourable task of driving the car to Hawaii, and he seemed to be as pleased as Punch to be allowed to drive a real Eleanor once in his life. Leilani shook her head again and again, and then handed the letter over to her brother, who had already looked at her questioningly. After he finished reading, he grinned and teased, „What? It's great when more people know the movie.”  
“To be clear of one thing: I do not call my car Eleanor!”  
“Good,” Keanu said with a laugh. “Because my car already has that name.”  
Leilani shook her head, entered the house, and on the way to the study she turned around again.  
“Then I hope for you that your car does not repeat the same fate as the historic Eleanor. Because then Vance will cut off your head.”  
“From both of us I am not the one who never does exceed the speed limit.”  
Leilani came to him and the sparks in her eyes let Keanu wait for the worst, especially when his sister raised her right hand.  
“So, dinner, whose turn is it? Stone-Scissors-Paper.”

A few minutes later, Keanu was groaning in the kitchen, cooking dinner. Perhaps he should vote for a new method of distributing the chores. In the case of Stone Scissors Paper, he always lost to Leilani, and today it was again a merciless 3-0 defeat.  
“Perhaps poker?” He asked himself softly, putting the water for the noodles on the stove.  
“Did you say something, little brother?” Leilani asked with a triumphant smile after she had entered the kitchen. He shook his head, because a discussion would be futile love-effort. Instead he inquired, “Have you reached Abby?”  
She nodded and leaned against the light wood made kitchen cabinet.  
“Even if it is already deep night in Washington, she was still in her laboratory. Apparently, Gibbs lets his people once again push overtime. But Abby said our request could run smoothly in the background. As soon as she has something, she will send us an email.”  
“How full was she?”  
“Given the fact that she managed to use more words in a five minute phone call than I did all day? To the lower edge of the upper lip,” Leilani said laughing, and Keanu also grinned. Abby’s caf-pow! addiction was well-known and what was valid for Marines and their coffee, also applied to the young forensic. If you wanted to survive, you should never stand between her and her object of addiction.  
“And what did she tell you?” While Keanu was already preparing the sauce for the noodles, he tried to find out news of the people at NCIS headquarters, who had become good friends for him as well as for his sister.  
“She wanted to know how the weather in Hawaii is, whether I had seen a dolphin, how the HPD forensics are and how they work.”  
“What was your answer?”  
“Answering? Abby on Caf-Pow!? You're good. Probably I would still hang on the phone if I had not heard how Ziva and DiNozzo argue in the background.”  
“The two again?”  
“Sure, who else? If the two do not argue, then I think it’s the downfall of the world.”  
Keanu nodded, gave noodles into the boiling water and turned to his sister after he had regulated the heat of the stove.  
“Even though we had actually promised never to talk about the work during dinner, I must break the rule; but only half-way.” His sister looked at him questioningly. “What do you think of Five-0, or better, of the 2/5 we met today?”  
Leilani pushed away from the cupboard, went through the kitchen to the refrigerator, opened it, and took out a bottle of coke. After she had opened it, she played thoughtfully with the bottle cap.  
“Williams looks like the typical cop, especially with his outfit. Just missing the tie,” she smirked. “He seemed as if he would always stay a step behind his boss, but I do not believe he follows him blindly. He will use his own head, and will also give a counter if he considers it necessary. Which might not be uncommon. I think of him as someone whose mouth you want to close forcedly with great pleasure from time to time. But he still does his job well, and when he goes behind McGarrett, he does so for the reason that he can keep an eye on the environment. He may be a Haole, but he has already internalized the principle of 'Ohana and feels well on the island, even if he would never admit it voluntarily.”  
Keanu nodded slowly. “And McGarrett?”  
Leilani took a deep breath.  
“He's a case on his own,” she said cautiously. “Highly decorated Lt. Commander, would walk through the fire for his team. However, he is also very convinced of himself and seldom deviates from a prefabricated opinion, which can lead to big problems.”  
“I also know someone like that,” thought Keanu grinning, but spared any comment.  
“Not unintelligent,” continued his sister, “but at any time ready to rely on specialists, if it should be necessary. I think McGarrett is heavily influenced by his past. Of course, no one can completely get rid of what had happened to one, but the death of the mother as a teenager and also that he had to listen how his father was killed, as well as his experiences as a SEAL, that made him hard. Hard against himself, but also against others. ‘Ohana is the most important thing to him, and the meetings today have shown me that he can’t stand it at all if someone decides without including him in the process, which is an interesting contrast to his successful career.”  
Keanu nodded slowly, then took care of the sauce for the noodles again, thinking about what his sister had said.  
“And what do you think about possibly necessary cooperation with Five-0?”  
“If McGarrett can leave his huge ego at home, we will have no problem. But as I doubt it, we will probably get stuck together now and then. For let's be honest, Keanu, you're not an angel.”  
“Hey!” He replied. “I am the kindness in person! Helpful, always friendly, always attentive and not at all violent. Au!”, He mocked being indignant, after Leilani had given him slight slap to the head for this saying. “In contrast to my sister, who will now set the table as punishment.”  
Leilani walked to the closet, got the dishes and cutlery, and covered the dining table in the living room.

During dinner they departed thematically from work and instead discussed what they could give to their aunt for birthday that would be in bit more than two weeks. But unlike a couple of days ago, they did not have to worry about the problem of shipping, as they were able to visit their aunt for the first time in years. After sharing the dishwashing, this time without a new stone-scissors-paper game, they settled down on the sofa and watched a basketball game together, during which both of them could get worked up about the players “inability”.

The next morning Leilani was again awakened by the bright light of the sun. Instead of swimming like the day before, she decided to go jogging on the beach, something she had definitely missed in Washington. There she would have gone to the gym for an hour before the work, because even if her brother had joked about it the other day, she did not have to put back behind him. Just dressed in shorts and sports top she left the house over the porch and breathing deeply the fresh air in she began with her sports program.  
When she came back Keanu still seemed to be asleep, a circumstance that was not wrong to her, because he needed partly longer in the bath than she did, despite the fact that she had so much longer hair and because them were a partly independent team, no one was sitting in their necks at work. So they could start the day when they wanted to.  
But Leilani thought about to call out for appeal in an hour at the latest with all the nasty tricks that were available to her.  
After a quick shower and the brief thought about which of her many T-shirts she should wear for the office today, she made herself a coffee and then entered the study to see if she had received an email from Abby. After she had started the laptop, she logged into her e-mail account and actually discovered a message from the young forensic scientist who had to have come in the middle of the night. Leilani read the news and grimaced in the course of reading. As soon as she had read the last sentence, her cup landed forceful on the desk.  
“That damn ass!”


	5. What did she do?

With a loud bang the door to the rooms of Five-0 flew open so swiftly that all the windows in the offices vibrated and pens in their cups on the desks started to clatter. Kono and Danny, who were in his office and talked about the next surfing session of his daughter Grace, looked up at the noise and a wide grin appeared on their faces. They knew that Steve was in a real fix, and it was his own fault. After all, he had consciously decided not to let the two agents know that they were probably looking for the same perpetrator. With long strides Leilani steered towards Steve's office and opened the door.  
“What do you think you’re doing?” She immediately snapped at him.  
Steve looked up and his forehead fell into thoughtful folds.  
“I have no idea what you're talking about, Miss Shaw.”  
“First,” Leilani built up in front of his desk, held her hands to her hips, and looked down at him, “it's Special Agent Shaw! And secondly, did you really believe we would not get to know you were working a similar case? That we would not make a national request for similar MOs?”  
Steve leaned forward and shrugged.  
“I don’t know. Inexperienced people make mistakes.”  
“Inexperienced?” Her eyes narrowed. “I have more experience than you can imagine in the remotest.”  
“I don’t know if I would recognize a desk job as an experience.”  
Leilani was short of words. This insolent fellow wore her out!  
“I have not just sat at the desk. I've seen things that would make your hair stand one the end.”  
“Oh, do you think?”  
She raised her chin challenging. “Yes, yes, I know. You hunted some dark guys around half the world, but I've seen things that could make you experiences seem like a day in Disneyland!”  
Steve sceptically raised an eyebrow.  
“Excuse me if I doubt that. If I would tell you what I've already done ...“  
“Oh please!”, He was interrupted by Leilani. „I know your record and know what happened to you, but that does not give you the right to behave like a Tasmanian devil at a banquet. Instead of directing Five-0, you should sit down on a couch and got checked through!”  
“Do you think I'm mentally unbalanced?”  
“Is this a catch question?”, came it dangerously calm from Leilani. “There is something like a certain etiquette between the authorities. As a result, it is good manners that you at least inform us that the victim of Five-0 died in similar circumstances. But apparently you got in training knocked everything out that has to do with courtesy, you Neanderthal!”

With cautious steps, Danny and Kono came closer to Steve’s office and watched the play that was set before them. Her boss sat tensely behind his desk, in front of which the young agent had built herself up, and seemed to boil with suppressed rage.  
“I'll put five dollars on the SEAL,” Danny said softly.  
“I'm against it,” Kono said, grinning. „Never underestimate the rage of a woman and Agent Shaw is loaded up!”  
“Who is loaded?”  
Synchronously, the two policemen turned around and began to smile joyfully.  
“Lori, how are you?” The young Hawaiian asked.  
The blonde woman chuckled and came nearer limping on her crutches.  
“Not too bad. I'm not quite as nimble as I was before the accident, but at least I'm no longer tied to the apartment and ...” A loud cry interrupted every further conversation and they looked at the office, alarmed.

“How did you just call me?”  
“You are a coarse, insensitive Neanderthal! You are so stuck in your thinking that I honestly wonder how you can sit with the stick in your ass at all.”  
“And you are…”  
“What am I?” The young agent interrupted him. “You don’t know me at all. From the beginning, you have made no effort to get to know me. Your arrogance stinks to high heaven, and how your staff can withstand you at all is a true miracle! But probably you have them so under the thumb that they do not dare to contradict.”  
“Five-0 is not a democracy, but a benevolent dictatorship,” Steve said as he slowly slumped backwards in his chair.  
“Well, that fits,” came it dryly from Leilani.  
“What do you mean by that?”  
“Have you ever listened to me? You're a stubborn ass!”  
“And you do not seem to know how to behave properly.”  
Staggered Leilani looked at him and said, “You can’t mean that for real, Commander, don’t you? You are the one who has not told that you have a similar case. So the lack of behaviour is clearly on your side.”  
“Miss Shaw ...”  
“It's Special Agent Shaw!” She spat at him. “But obviously it's too much to ask you to remember.”  
“What does that mean?”  
“It means that I bet the NCIS will solve this case faster than you and your Five-0 monkeys.”  
“Are you betting on a murder case, Miss Shaw?” He looked at her provocatively, realizing just how much it annoyed the young woman that he did not address her with her professional title.  
„You're so ... Aaaargh!” She shouted, what was what the others of Five-0 heard in the main room. She turned to the door, tore it open, and stormed outside. “We'll show it to you, and hopefully you've learned up to then what collegial respect means.” She walked fast through the room, and as she passed Kono, Danny and Lori, she nodded to them briefly, saying good-bye. “Detective Williams, Officers.”

 

Alarmed Keanu sat up in his bed. Something had happened, he could not exactly define it, but he knew it was so. He jumped out of his bed and left his room. On the ground floor he saw that the door to the room of his sister was open and after he had looked briefly, he had realized that she was not there, so he turned around again.  
„Lei?“ He shouted inquiringly.  
The bathroom was empty, as was the living room. A quick glance into the kitchen revealed to him that his sister had already cooked coffee, even if she was not sitting at the small counter and breakfasting. He thought for a moment that Leilani was still swimming, but when he looked out of the window, he realized there was no towel on the wooden railing of the terrace. So there was only one room left to check. When he entered the study, he saw that the laptop was on and with a brief wipe over the touchpad he activated the screen. Reading Abby's mail, he was getting paler and he knew where his sister was at the moment and what had caused him the awkward feeling that had startled him. Some would call it a twin thing, since they often knew how the other felt in that moment and his experience told him that Leilani was currently in a very bad mood. Hastily Keanu left the study, ran to the next door, just pulled a pair of pants and a T-shirt over and slipped into his flip-flops on his way out, not necessarily a workable outfit, but he did not go to work. He would try to limit the damage caused by his sister.  
He jumped into his car, and in the best racing drivers’ style he shot out of Kaumana Place in the hope that his sister had not done or said something what would made a collaboration with Five-0 impossible.

“What did she do?”  
For the second time that morning the entrance door to the headquarters of Five-0 flew open and a Shaw came in. Only Keanu was a bit more calm than his sister and he did not look angry, but rather worried. Kono, Lori and Danny turned to him and grinned.  
“Don’t worry, Agent Shaw, there were no dead or injured. Maybe our boss’ ego has been a little damaged, but ...”  
“But that's so big,” Kono was interrupted by Danny, “that it can handle it.”  
Keanu breathed a sigh of relief and then ran through the confused brown hair.  
“So I do not have to apologize for Leilani's behaviour?”  
“Of course not,” Kono waved off. “The boss's own fault. We were all in favour of informing you that we had a victim that died under similar circumstances as yours. But the boss has been stubborn.”  
“Exactly,” Danny said. „Steve has attributed it to himself, and actually it was quite amusing to watch.”  
“Lei was probably in full swing? I'm really sorry,” Keanu said as he rubbed embarrassed over his neck. Then he noticed Lori, who had stayed a little behind her colleagues, which is why he had not seen her so far. So he walked up to her and held out his hand. “Forgive me,” he apologized with a charming smile, “Special Agent Keanu Shaw, NCIS. The hellcat was my sister Leilani.”  
Lori grinned and shook his hand.  
“Officer Lori Weston, pleasure. Kono and Danny have already brought me up to date. How is it to return to Hawaii after so long?”  
In consideration of Lori's foot the four sat down on one of the seats and talked for a while until another door flew open and Steve stormed into the main room. When he saw Keanu sitting with his team, he stopped abruptly.  
“Special Agent Shaw, what do you want here? Was it not enough that your sister was here before? Starts now round two?”  
Keanu rose and smiled apologetically.  
“On the contrary, Commander McGarrett. I am here because I wanted to see if the Five-0 headquarters still stands after my sister’s visit. Leilani can be difficult, I admit it, but as long as you don’t provoke her, she is normally quite tolerable.”  
Steve uttered an incredulous snort as response to this statement. Leilani Shaw and tolerable were not necessarily the words he would use in a sentence together.  
“I really dare to doubt,” was his dry answer to Keanu's last statement, which led to shaking heads of his team, and the young Special Agent also knew that something urgent had to be done, otherwise the Commander and his sister would constantly clash with each other.  
“You know what? I'm inviting Five-0. Come over tonight. We throw some steaks on the grill and I also spent the beer.”  
Danny, Kono and Chin, who had recently arrived, grinned, while Steve was clearly reluctant to accept the invitation, and Lori was now sure that the female Agent Shaw had to be a decent bitch and with such a person she reluctantly spent her free time. However, if the team were to accept it, she would not stay away.  
“I think ...” Steve started to answer, but was interrupted by Chin.  
“I think this is a good idea, you wanted to say. For let's face it, we're an island with a million inhabitants, and if two investigators don’t get along with each other, that could cause problems.”  
“This is already done,” Kono whispered to her cousin clearly. “The boss was folded beautifully just before.” A look of blue eyes silenced her. “Sorry, Boss, but I think we should accept Agent Shaw's invitation.”  
“I don’t know,” came slowly from Steve and Keanu shrugged. They would come, he was sure, but obviously Steve wanted to be convinced.  
“You know what? I'll go now, choose some clothes that don’t look as if I've fallen out of bed,” he tugged exaggeratedly around the slightly wrinkled and washed-out T-shirt with USMC overprint, “and as for the invitation ... We'll have a barbecue this evening nonetheless. If you come you’re welcome, if not, no problem. In this case it will remain more for me,” he smiled, then took his leave of Five-0, but not without a look around and whispering loud in his not existing beard “I thought Leilani would have been more angry, but then there would be no stone above the other anymore. Apparently my sister’s becoming tame. Amazing.”  
The team, minus Steve, looked behind him smiling, as Keanu left the headquarters quietly whistling.  
“And what do you think, Boss? Shall we go to the Shaws tonight?”  
Steve folded his arms in front of his chest and looked thoughtfully at the slowly closing door.  
“I'm not sure,” he muttered indignantly.  
“But Agent Shaw is right. We really should get it together, and that's mostly you and his sister.”  
An icy look wandered to Danny and immediately Steve closed down. “Kono, any news about Millson Ltd.?”  
Immediately the team fell into the working mode, but Steve knew the last word about the invitation was not yet spoken.  
“Millson Ltd. deals with the manufacture and distribution of laundry for the hotel's gastronomy. So there are clothes, table and bed linen and towels. Apparently, the CEO wants to get orders from the hotels of Hawaii, too, for so far the clienteles are restricted to the mainland. He plans an expansion and Miss McKegan has been sent here as a negotiating partner,” Kono began.  
“I talked to her boss,” Chin continued. “As expected, he could tell me more than the so-called friend. Mr. Miller, incidentally the 'Mill' in the company name, described Miss McKegan as a quiet, friendly person. In his opinion, she was a woman who had no enemies, so he cannot imagine who could have wanted her death.”  
Steve propped himself thoughtfully on the Table-PC.  
“What about the boyfriend? He seemed more interested in getting Kono's number than that his girlfriend was found dead. Seems to take nothing serious the boy.”  
“The same opinion were also her parents,” Danny agreed with his partner. “Of course they were shocked about the news and they want to come from the mainland with the next flight. They have often disputed with their daughter about her choice of men. Apparently, Jennings was not the first parasitic greyhound, who had thrown himself at his little girl, to say it in the words of Mr. McKegan. She comes from quite a good home, and many guys probably thought it was easy to wrap her around their little finger and take advantage of her. Jennings does not seem to be an exception.”  
“Probably not,” said Chin grinning, who had overheard Danny's conversation with her parents. “According to Mr. McKegan Jennings has often tried to lend money for his strange business ideas from Jennifer, but she has always denied this rigorously, which is why Jennings often blamed her for her lack of confidence in his abilities.”  
Lori straightened herself up on the sofa where she had been sitting during the whole meeting.  
“That might have been a motive, or don’t you think?” She thought aloud.  
“No.” Steve shook his head. “Kono show us the crime scene pictures.” She did as requested and he stood himself next to one of the large screens hanging from the ceiling: “It is too neat. If Jennings were our culprit, there would have been signs of a fight, but the crime scene is almost clinically clean, as Fong has already told me. The evidences, which the CSU had found, can all be explained with the contents of the apartment. The only thing that does not fit in the environment are fine grains near the door. According to Fong, it is sand, which is found in this composition on the Northshore.”  
“Oh, sand in Hawaii, how unusual,” Danny said sarcastically, leading to the unanimous nod of Five-0; because Hawaii and sand were simply two terms that belonged together.  
“Anything else?” Steve asked the round, but only got a general headshake, whereupon Kono leaned forward and looked at her boss slightly grinning.  
“Perhaps the Shaws have now a trace. How about you call the NCIS office and ask them?”  
“And give Miss Shaw the satisfaction that we are dependent on their help? No way! Rather, I let myself be thrown into a basin full of sharks,” Steve said between clenched teeth.  
“Where does your dislike of Agent Shaw come from?” Chin whistled with a smile.  
“She is an arrogant know-all, and just so damned green,” was Steve’s snotty answer, making his team laugh.  
“Would not it be an advantage if we were to work with Team Shaw? So that they can learn something from us?” Danny asked, whereupon Steve looked at him furiously, which made the blond grin even broader. “Why your aneurysm face?”  
“I do not have an aneurysm face,” replied Steve insulted.  
“Oh yes, my friend, and at the moment it's reaching new heights,” was Danny's triumphant answer. Unanimous nodding was the result, which caused Steve to cross his arms in front of his chest and look angry.  
“Come on, Steve,” Lori said from her seat on the sofa, “don’t be upset. It is really good that there is now again a fully operational NCIS bureau on the island and it does not demand that you and the Shaws become a heart and a soul, but a little collegial respect would really be appropriate.”  
Even if she herself didn’t think the best of Leilani Shaw, she was the same opinion than the others. The differences must be cleared.  
Steve knew she was right, like his whole team and Leilani Shaw. He hadn’t really behaved properly when he had concealed a possible connection - not that her behaviour was so completely right, but his weakness was his stubbornness and distrust of employees of other authorities; especially when he did not know them. He looked thoughtfully at the blonde woman with the crutches. He had also mistrusted her first; simply for the reason that she had been assigned to his team, with no chance of contradiction, and he had had no idea of her abilities. But after they had gathered together, or better, after him overcoming his enormous ego, Lori had become an indispensable member for Five-0. Should this possibility also apply to the Shaws? Should a collaboration with the twins actually be successful? He dared to doubt it a bit, though ... A thought shot through his head and he turned to his office.  
“Find out more about Jennings. Even if it does not look like a relationship related case, I want to know everything about him and we should take a closer look into Miss McKegans' past.”  
His team nodded and they went to their respective jobs. After Steve had sunk on his desk chair, he looked thoughtfully at the phone before picking up and dialling a number.

After a brief ring, the call was answered and a dark voice came on.  
“Yes?”  
“Sam, McGarrett here.”  
A laugh came from the listener. “McGarrett, you old crook, are you calling me to beg me to release you from your debt?”  
Steve easily grimaced and said, “No, by no means. I'm a SEAL and a SEAL ...”  
“... holds his word and always pays his debts,” the other completed the sentence. “So, why are you calling me?”  
“Do you know a sibling pair called Shaw?”  
“Indeed,” was the happy answer.  
“And what can you tell me about them?” When his interlocutor did not respond directly, Steve frowned. “Sam?”  
“I've already heard that Lei and Keanu were transferred to Hawaii. Have a lot of fun with them, especially with Leilani. The little one is as stubborn as a mule, and if something goes against the grain, you better get running. Keanu is only slightly better, but the Shaw twins are really good agents. If they had not been transferred to Hawaii, then Hetty would certainly have asked them for the OSP, for what they do, they do.” He hesitated, then continued earnestly in the voice: “But actually it is better, if you make yourself a picture of them and their way of working. Nevertheless, let me tell you one thing: If you get into a tough situation, then you will be glad to have them as a cover, even if you sometimes have to slow Leilani in her ambition.”  
“That's not all,” Steve said after a short pause, which made Sam laugh.  
“You’re right, Leilani may look like a fashion doll without a brain, and especially her age is in part really a hindrance in her work, but if you blame her for her allegedly lacking experience, you should be best avoided forever.”  
“Hm,” Steve said quietly.  
“Oh, you've already pissed her up. Then I wish you good luck,” Sam said briefly, “and remember to duck!”  
Steve heard a knock on his office door, raised his head, and noticed Chin standing in front of it. He waved his cell phone and showed Steve that he had something important.  
“Really funny, Hanna.”  
“Hey, I'm just talking and I do not know if you're interested, but Leilani is currently solo to my knowledge.”  
“Bye, Sam,” was Steve's concise answer. The laughter of the agent in L.A. lingered long after he had hung up.  
Steve looked at the phone, shaking his head. Sometimes the dark-skinned agent of the NCIS in L.A. was simply crazy and this more or less hidden reference to the relationship status of the young investigator was really impossible! He got up, went to the door, opened it, and looked at Chin questioningly.  
“What's up?”  
“Fong just called. He has discovered something.”

Keanu parked his car right behind his sister's, which could only be described as properly parked with very good will. As he closed the front door, he could hear the voice of his sister from the upper floor. “No, Ziva, you do not understand! I'm totally going to lose it here. Every time I meet McGarrett, I'm trying to use one of your nearly 20 techniques to kill someone with a paper clip!” Keanu slowly went to the study and saw his sister sitting at her desk and having a video-chat with Ziva. He stepped beside her chair and waved Ziva over the webcam.  
“Aloha Ziva. How is the weather in Virginia?”  
“Aloha Keanu. As I tried to explain to your sister, it snowed again and I really envy you.”  
“Envy?” Leilani exclaimed. “We are dealing with a crazy dictator, and he also calls himself investigator. That's just ...”  
Keanu leaned forward and shut his sister's mouth.  
“What my dear sister wants to say is that we have a few start-up problems at the moment, but we will eliminate them.” Leilani gave an incredulous sound, but Keanu's hand dampened it. “The fact is, McGarrett had acted wrong, that is not to be denied, but if my sister will not be so stubborn, the whole situation would probably have been cleansed by now.”  
Ziva looked at Leilani, who shrugged her shoulders, trying to say something, but still having Keanu's hand before her mouth. Ziva grinned, because these two were just delicious.  
“And otherwise? Apart from the fact that you have impertinently good weather?”  
“Well,” Keanu said, “we've a murderer on the island, who has already killed two people who seem to have nothing to do with each other. One is the wife of a Marine and the other a young woman, without obvious connections to the Navy or the Marine Corps. What does not make it so easy, because one of the victims is a civilian so we are forced to work with Five-0.”  
Leilani murmured again, but Keanu just grinned, which quickly became a painful whine, because his sister had bitten him strongly in the hand.  
“Five-0 is not the problem! The problem is Mr. stubborn knucklehead McGarrett! This totally arrogant ass, just because he has a few more years on his back, he thinks he could do and leave with us what he wants!”  
“I have no real problems with him,” Keanu interjected, reaping an angry look from his sister. He massaged the hand that Leilani had just bitten. “Well, it is true, Lei. You're the one who has something against him. Maybe because you are quite similar in character. But the fact is that we will have to work with Five-0, and I do not even want you to close blood brotherhood immediately, but please, Leilani, try to do it.” Without knowing it, Keanu had used almost the same words as Lori.  
“He's right,” Ziva said. “If you are really dealing with a multiple offender, then you will need any support.”  
Keanu nodded approvingly and Leilani wanted to give a little friendly answer when her cell phone began to ring. She reached for it and accepted the call.  
“Shaw? Yes. All right, we'll come.” She hung up and looked at Ziva apologizing. “This was the crime lab. They seem to have found something.”  
Ziva nodded and then smiled.  
“Good luck to you two,” she said.  
“Thank you, Ziva, and greetings to the others,” Keanu replied, and his sister nodded affirmatively.  
“I will.”  
So they ended the connection and the siblings looked at each other.  
“You should wear something different, brother heart. Are we driving with one car?”  
Keanu quickly left the study, and Leilani could hear him rummaging in his room. When he came out again, this time in jeans and dark green long sleeve, whose arms he had pushed up to 3/4, he just pulled on a black suit vest and shook his head.  
“We're going with both of them. Have to go some shopping.”  
“Why that?”  
He would not tell her that he had invited Five-0 to a barbecue, so he just grinned at Leilani as he put his badge on the belt and stowed his gun in the holster.  
“Oh, you know, I'm just looking for a decent piece of meat.”  
“Grilling?” His sister asked brightly.  
“I thought so.”  
“Little brother, this is a brilliant idea!”  
Together the siblings left the house, got into their cars and then drove to the crime lab.

 


	6. First results

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve tries to explain what his problem with Leilani is  
> And we learn something about the murder weapon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is a day early, because I'm at my grandma's this weekend. The old lady turns 80 tomorrow. So, big party. 
> 
> Oh, one last thing. I'm no expert in forensics, weapons, police work or the American Military. All that is mentioned in one of these subjects is searched as best as I could in the Internet.  
> But nonetheless, I hope you'll like the chapter.

* * *

 

When Leilani stopped her car in front of the crime lab, a slight growling escaped her throat. In the parking lot stood a silver Camaro and right next to it the blue Traverse, of which she knew exactly that this was the car of Detective Kelly.  
What the hell did Five-0 here? Had McGarrett learned that there were results and wanted to snaffled it? It would totally fit him. She got out of her car, slammed the door, then turned to her brother, who had just parked behind her. Her arms folded in front of her chest she looked angry at him.

Keanu parked his car in front of the crime lab and frowned as he saw his sister's aggressive body language. What had happened that she was so grumpy? Hadn’t she calmed down shortly before their departure?  
He sighed, got out, and joined her.  
“What's the matter, lil’?”  
“Well that!” She pointed to the two Chevys. “Five-0 is here. Probably McGarrett wants to snuffle our results! But that he can completely forget.”  
She stashed her weapon in the holster, which she carried so hidden on her lower back, that it was not directly noticed that she was armed. Her badge, on the other hand, stuck in the front of her belt in a visible way and so she stormed into the building. Keanu always right behind her.

Steve and his team were standing in front of the lab waiting for Fong, who had told them that he had to complete a series of tests before he could speak to them. The dark-haired wondered what was so important that they must have come to the lab. Normally a video conference had been enough. So, why not today?  
If it was up to him, he would still be sitting in his office and pretending not to think about Sam's not so cryptic reference about Leilani Shaw. Even if he tried to deny it, what he had learned so far about the young agent made one thing clear: she might be quite young, perhaps too young to have her own team together with her brother, but lack of age meant in this case is not necessarily missing experience. If the note in her NCIS service record really meant that the twins had been trained by Agent Gibbs, the head of the investigation team responsible for capital crimes, they really did not lack experience.  
When Steve had acknowledged this, his thoughts wandered directly to a point Sam had so explicitly pointed out. Of course he had noticed the good looks of the agent. Only an idiot would not notice the sporty figure and the interesting combination of dark hair and bright eyes. But on the one hand, he still had a relationship with Lieutenant Catherine Rollins, even if she was again overseas, and secondly, the good appearance Leilani’s did not necessarily mean that he immediately would jump onto some amorous adventure. He nodded slightly, as if to convince himself of this opinion. He did not believe that Five-0 would often meet the twins, at least not when he managed somehow to refuse Keanu's invitation for the BBQ. But if it came to the point that they would meet the Shaws on the professional level, he would try to see Leilani as the agent she was.  
Just as Steve had planned to do so, the entrance door to the lab flew open and no one else than the young Shaw rushed towards him with far-reaching steps.

“What in the name of all the gods of the sea do you want here, McGarrett?” Leilani built herself up in front of him, glaring at him. Steve crossed his arms in front of his chest and immediately his decision, taken a few moments ago, was forgotten, and he looked just as angry as she did. What was it with the young agent, that she always raised his anger level within seconds?  
Keanu remained standing next to Kono and made himself ready to separate his sister and McGarrett, for Leilani was a more than easy-to-provoke person and the Commander at the moment represented a red cloth for her.  
“Only for your information, Miss Shaw,” the older smiled as he gained a growl from her in response to this false salutation, “we got a call that there were results to our case.”  
“We too,” Keanu said, “and given the fact that the modus operandi is similar, if not identical, we can actually assume that the results are the same.”  
“That's correct,” a young man interfered in the conversation, who had just stepped out of the lab before Leilani could say anything about Steve and his team again. “I've called both Team Shaw and Five-0, because we've got some insights about the murder weapon. If you want to follow me, please.” He turned and entered the lab, followed by Steve, Leilani and their teams. The both leaders came to halt in front of Charlie, arms crossed, looking at him hard.  
“So, what's the matter?” came it contemporaneous of them, causing Five-0 and Keanu to grin, the two squabblers, however induced to cast furious glances at each other.  
“After I had received the imprints of the entry wounds of both victims from Dr. Bergmann, the form happened to be familiar to me, which caused that I checked my suspicion in a database for stabbing weapons.”  
“Come to the point, Charlie,” Kono interrupted.  
“In both cases, the killing weapon is very likely a Katana.”  
“Ahm, what?” all asked unanimously.  
“Well,” Charlie said apologetically, “the shape of the wound canal suggests that both Miss McKegan and Mrs. Wolfe were stabbed with a Katana.”  
“Very unlikely,” said Steve and Leilani could not help but inwardly agree with him, but would rather have bitten her tongue than to admit loudly.  
“Would it not be more than conspicuous if someone walked around the island with such a sword?” Keanu intervened, and his sister nodded gratefully, but kept silent. “I do not know Japanese weapons well, but aren’t Katanas, well, really long?”  
“The blade length is usually about 65 cm, the length of the _Tsuka_ , the hilt, can vary,” explained Danny, which brought him some questioning but also surprised views of his team colleagues. “What? I'm on Japanese films. Well, sue me!”  
Kono grinned, and there was a slight smile on the face of the young forensics.  
“Well, it may well be that a Katana is not really an inconspicuous weapon, but the form of the wounds speaks for it. In addition, the fact that we could not find any residues of the blade leads me to think that it is not some cheap sword sold to tourists. The blade is a high quality product which is not available at every corner, not even in Japan.”  
“That should simplify to make a list of suspects,” Chin threw into the room.  
“I think so, too,” Fong said, then looked at a sheet handed to him by a colleague. “Furthermore, I can only say that all the traces found correspond to the respective environment in which the victims were found. The only exceptions are the traces of sand at the McKegan crime scene, which, as I have already told Five-0, come from the Northshore.”  
“So we don’t have anything that brings us closer to the perpetrator,” Leilani said dryly, and Charlie shrugged.  
“The offender is sly. He knows how not to leave any traces, but this does not necessarily imply his abilities. Because through all these investigations series on television, everyone now thinks to know to what attention will be paid on crime scenes and tries to avoid these things.”  
Keanu nodded slowly, then addressed a point that had not yet been clarified: “What about the tox results? Mrs. Wolfe had not fought against her attacker, so Dr. Bergmann suspected she had been sedated.”  
“The same is true for Miss McKegan,” Kono said, getting a cold look from Steve, but she just shrugged. Meanwhile, any attempt to exclude the NCIS was senseless anyway.  
“As far as the narcotic is concerned, we still need to do a few tests. The problem is, you have to know what you're looking for, for proving it, so we're turning around a bit.”  
“Anything else?”, Asked Leilani, on whose face a thoughtful expression had appeared, an expression that her brother knew too well. She had an idea and was now weighing the pros and cons.  
“No, not so far,” Charlie said apologetically. “If we will find something, we will of course report immediately.”  
Leilani nodded, turned around and disappeared without another word from the lab. Keanu smiled forgivingly: “Sometimes my sister just doesn’t have any manners.”  
“That was clear to me,” Steve said, but he got a painful side blow from Kono.  
“As if you were so much better, Boss,” she said, grinning.  
“Before this round will get out of hand,” Keanu interrupted, “I'll probably be on the way. Thanks for the information, Dr. Fong.”  
“Charlie is enough,” he interrupted, leading to a nod.  
“So thank you again and we others will see us tonight. Or not,” Keanu added after a quick look toward Steve.  
“And where are we going to be?” He was stopped by Danny, causing him to laugh aloud.  
“I bet that one of you has already found our address. So until then,” he waved into the round and then also left the lab.

 

A few minutes later, Keanu parked his car in the parking lot in front of a 24/7 supermarket. He did not worry about what Leilani would think about this trip, because he was sure she had not gone to the NCIS office, but home. From there, she would also be able to put her idea into practice and finally inform him about the results. Since his sister was now, busy with whatever, he could calmly shop for this evening.  
In front of the double-winged electronic entrance door, he took one of the shopping carts; briefly estimating what was needed for a cozy barbecue and entered the store.  
„Meat, definitely lots of meat,“ Keanu murmured to himself as he walked along the corridors, „and Lei will be determined to make salad again. What women always have with this green stuff? But her salad is really good, so also the stuff for it. Perhaps I can persuade her to make her stuffed baguettes ... But what is needed for them? Damn, I do not know.“ He quickly took out his cell phone and wrote his sister with a frantic finger. Shortly thereafter he received the answer with the ingredients and he looked around searching for the relevant section of the market.  
“Where the hell are the baking ingredients?” He cursed, his searching look falling on a woman who immediately aroused his interest. She was tall, had a sporty figure and long dark-red hair. Keanu could not see anything from her face, but what he saw he liked. He walked towards the woman, harrumphed slightly, then smiled charmingly as she turned to him.  
“Excuse me, if I'm so brazen to just speak to you, but I've only moved to Hawaii and do not really know where everything is. Perhaps you could help me?”  
In the way Keanu was looked, he could see that she did not liked being spoken to like that. Or maybe she hadn’t heard what he had said at all? After a second glance he realized that she was wearing headphones and seemed to be perfectly in her thoughts.  
“Excuse me, what did you say?” She pulled a plug out of her ear and smiled at him, apologizing, after she had scrutinized him and clearly saw the service shield on his belt. “When I listen to music, I am always completely in another world.”  
Keanu smiled and shrugged.  
“It can happen to everyone. I would never have approached you so directly if I was not really desperate. I have committed the mistake of having invited a couple of colleagues to barbecue this evening, which will totally upset my sister when she learns about it because she cannot stand them. But if I want my sister not to feed me to the sharks, then I have to get all the ingredients we need for tonight. That's why I would be very grateful if you could help me.”  
The woman smiled, took the second plug out and stowed away the MP3 player in her shoulder bag, after she had turned it off. Then she held out her hand to Keanu.  
“I like to know who I will save from sharks. Florence Sullivan.”  
Keanu took the gesture and smiled, “I'm glad, Florence. Keanu Shaw.”  
“So, Keanu Shaw, what do we have to do to get your sister satisfied?”  
“My sister is unbelievable into salad and the one she makes is really delicious. Then she just sent me the recipe for her homemade baguette and besides, of course, a lot of meat and the good, old beer.”  
Florence let out a faint laugh and stood beside Keanu.  
“So then follow me inconspicuously, Keanu. I'll save you.”

While Keanu let himself be led by Florence through the supermarket and loaded more food into the cart, the two conversed excitedly. Unlike Keanu, Florence was born and raised on the mainland, more precisely in the far north, in Montana's capital, Helena. Three years ago, she had just come to Hawaii for a vacation and a conference, but then she had liked the idea of almost constant temperatures throughout the year, that she had decided not to leave the island any more. To Keanu's question, how this could be reconciled professionally, she had only grinned and said that fitness coaches would always be needed. Something Keanu could only agree with.  
As he made his way to the check-out, Florence glanced at the cart and smiled amused.  
“When I look at everything you've taken,” on the way from the bakery to the vegetables, they suggested to use the familiar form of address, “there you have food and beer for a whole company. Sure, that's not too much? Perhaps another eater should come around.”  
Keanu smiled as he put his stuff on the belt, then turned to Florence.  
“You know, as much as I would like to accept the offer, but Leilani will already jump to my neck because I've invited the others. It would be little advantage if there would be another unknown factor.”  
“Your sister is probably not the easiest person, is she?”  
“You know,” Keanu said thoughtfully, “I would almost agree. However, I must deny it from Leilani to ever have said this!” Florence laughed and Keanu nodded her grateful as she began to clear the goods back into the cart. “But she is my sister and at the same time my best friend and therefore I will give my best to always protect her.”  
After Florence had paid the few things she'd got herself when Keanu had spoken to her, the two of them left the supermarket and remained unsure in front of each other.  
“So I have to go this way.” The redhead pointed to the left.  
“I have to go in the other direction,” Keanu said, smirking at her. “And, just because I don’t think it's smart to come over tonight, I'd like to see you again.”  
Florence's mouth twisted upward, she lowered her head slightly, and stroked a strand of hair behind her ear. Then she put her shopping bags on the floor and stretched out her hand. When Keanu puzzled the eyebrow, she grinned broadly.  
“Mobile phone.” Keanu laughed and handed her his mobile. Florence tapped on it for a while and handed it back to him. “Call me if you have time and survived tonight.”  
“I will. I was delighted, Florence Sullivan,” he said, holding out his hand, she smiled and repeated the introduction of nearly an hour ago.  
“Likewise, Keanu Shaw.”  
They nodded to each other and as Florence walked away, the dark-haired looked afterwards her for a moment, then turned and went to his car.

 

Leilani sat, her legs crossed, in shorts on one of the comfortable armchairs in the living room, her laptop on the couch table, and one of her books in her hand. She slowly drew a strand behind her ear and sighed. The book was just for melting away. She was eager to read, and because she had already enough blood and horror at work, the choice of reading was mostly historical romance novels.  
“Hey sis, are Lord no-idea-how-his-name-is and Lady I-am-so-hot-and-horny yet again doing the hot? How you can read such rubbish is really a mystery to me.”  
She winced and threw a dark look at her brother, who stood in the door to the living room a shopping bag in each hand.  
“You know, Kea, just because you are up to blood and violence in every situation of your life doesn’t have to be true for any of us.”  
“So that's exaggerated.” He put down the bags and raised his right hand. “I can tell you at least two situations where violence and blood in my opinion have no place.”  
“If you say sex and food now, you just prove to me that you are a typical man.”  
“Okay then I will not say it.” He dropped his hand and after he had taken the bags again, he turned to the kitchen. “Will you help me clear out the car and start baking, oh dearest of all sisters? Perhaps you could also tell me what idea was going through your very intelligent brain.”  
“Stop slurping,” she replied grinning, but stood up, bookmarked the page, and after she had laid it on the table, she followed him into the kitchen. “But you are right. When Fong told us that the weapon was probably a high-quality Katana, I had the idea that there should be something like a forum for collectors of such weapons. But since I did not want to ask Abby again to run the search for us, I started it myself.”  
“And had success?” He asked, stowing the meat in the fridge.  
“No, unfortunately not really. I've got a few names, but they're all from some rich, bored, old men who live on the mainland, and I really don’t believe our offender has left the 60 behind him.”  
“Unlikely,” Keanu agreed, and prepared for leaving the kitchen.  
“Where are we going?” His sister held him back.  
“Well, get the rest,” he pointed over his shoulder to the front door.  
“Do you want to feat a whole battalion, or why is that so much?” Asked Leilani and her suspicious tone was not to be ignored.  
“No not at all! But I figured if we had a little more, we could save ourselves the purchases for the next few days,” he hurried to say, still not sure how his sister would react to the more than likely appearance of Five-0.  
It was really good that he had not invited Florence. Even if he was more than sure that he would meet with her in the next few days. She had everything that addresses a woman to him, and even if Leilani repeatedly accused him of having only food and women in his head, he was more than picky about his companions. And women who had only a head, so that it did not rain into the neck, he could absolutely not stand.  
“Okay,” Leilani snapped him of his thoughts. “Then bring in the stuff. I'll go straight to the baguette and you'll help me with the salad, so that's clear.”  
He nodded, hoping that if Leilani were in a good mood when later the bell rang, the storm that would set in on him would not be too bad.

 

“Boss?” Steve raised his head as Kono spoke to him, who smiled broadly. “We are now on our way to the Shaws. Chin has just started a research for collectors from Katanas and he thinks he might find a few names for us to work with.”  
Steve nodded and leaned back in his chair.  
“I wish you a lot of fun. Even if I doubt that this is possible in Miss Shaw's presence.”  
Kono waved to her cousin that he should go ahead, then stepped into Steve's office and closed the door.  
“What's the matter, Steve? Why do you refuse Agent Shaw so completely? Why do you refuse to speak of her with her rank?”  
He frowned and then sighed. Of course it had to happen. His team demanded answers to something he could not really answer himself. But he would not be able to keep them away forever, so he tried to find a reason that was at least halfway plausible.  
“I just cannot judge her. Worse, I do not trust her.”  
“But why not? With her brother you do not seem to have any problems.”  
He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest.  
“What do you know about the education in Annapolis?”  
“Well,” Kono sat down on the visitor's chair and thought for a moment, “the training lasts four years. While specializing in a subject, you have to serve the Navy or the Marine Corps for at least five years afterwards.”  
Steve nodded slowly.  
“That's right. If you decide for the Navy, you leave the academy as Ensign, you are a Second Lieutenant at the Marine Corps, and that's what makes me so suspicious and distrustful against Leilani Shaw. Her brother has been promoted once in his full service; from Second Lieutenant to First Lieutenant, nothing unusual within a six-year service. But his sister, she rose through the ranks from Ensign to Lieutenant. These are two ranks in just six years?! This can’t be true.”  
Kono suspected whereupon her boss would get at and looked at him questioningly.  
“Do you think she's due to, well, she's ...?”  
“If you want to ask me if she rose through the sheets, yes, I guess. I can’t imagine how she could have done it otherwise. So I can’t and won’t take someone like that seriously, and even less will I work with someone like that!”  
Kono leaned forward, her arms resting on her knees. She chewed on her lower lip thoughtfully, then slowly nodded.  
“Okay, I understand that. But it won’t give Keanu without his sister. We must somehow be able to work with both of them, should this be necessary. Perhaps you're wrong.” Steve wanted to interrupt her, but the young Hawaiian only raised her hand and said, “Let me talk, please. Just listen. She was at the Navy Intelligence Service. Just like you for a while. At this time some things might have happened which justified a promotion, but we can’t prove this because we do not have access to their service records. So we can only speculate, which is rarely good. My suggestion is therefore that we drive together to Kailua and try to get to know the siblings. Maybe we'll find something that helps us to get a better picture of Leilani.”  
Steve thought for a moment, then nodded slowly. Kono was right. Reliability, certainty about the reasons for Leilani’s fast promotion would be obtained only if they tried to get to know the siblings better.

 

Leilani sang along loudly the song from the radio while she was about to put last hand on the baguettes. One was already lying behind her on the kitchen counter and waited to be eaten by her brother, who came sniffing into the kitchen from time to time. If he did not look at her with begging glances, if he could not get a piece, and the bread would taste much better as long it was halfwarm, he prepared the barbecue on the lawn behind the house. She smiled and scolded the chorus once again remembering where they had been a week ago, and that their friends in Virginia were doing anything else, just not preparing a cozy barbecue. According to weather reports Virginia and the entire east coast was getting snow again, and she knew Ziva would be particularly upset about the weather. Although the Israeli had lived in the United States for several years now, she had still not grown accustomed to the cold winters, and probably never would.  
With one foot imitating the beat of the song, Leilani went to her knees and looked through the viewing window into the interior of the oven. With a nod of appreciation, she turned it off and left the bread in the residual heat. She straightened herself and cast a reviewing glance through the kitchen. The salad was ready and so was everything else she and Keanu would need for a cozy evening. So she could relax on the veranda and rush her brother over the lawn, so that he would steadily supply her with fresh meat from the grill.  
She considered briefly, and after she had taken two bottles of beer out of the fridge, she went out the door to the terrace. There she clasped the bottles slightly together, and caught the attention of her brother. Gripping her shoes off her feet, she went down the few steps to the lawn and handed Keanu a drink.  
“What do you think, how long it will take until I finally get something to bite?” She asked him with a begging look.  
He took a sip from the bottle and looked thoughtfully at the grill.  
“So in about ten minutes, the meat can on the grillage; means maybe you should start to set the table.”  
Leilani nodded and went back to the house. She was standing in the kitchen and took dishes from the cupboard when the doorbell rang. She put the plates on the counter and went through the hall to the front door. She wondered briefly who this was, but since the Kaumana Place was a relatively quiet street, it was quite possible that it was only one of the neighbors who wanted to visit for a short introduction. She swiftly opened the door and the friendly smile she had on her face died when she saw Steve McGarrett's tall figure standing behind his team.  
“Oh hello, your brother had invited us to the barbecue.” Danny glanced at the young agent. A hand still at the door Leilani turned her head and shouted, “KEANU! Move your ass right now!”

 


	7. BBQ @ the Shaws

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally some things about Leilani's past are revealed.

Keanu looked after his sister, than as he had assured himself that the coal was ready, took the grill and pushed it into its mounting. He turned toward the house and wondered what his sister was doing so long when her loud voice reached the garden. Guiltily, he let the beer bottle drop, from which he had just wanted to drink.  
“Oh damn, I think the others have just arrived,” he muttered to himself.  
With quick steps he ran across the porch into the living room. There he could hear his sister even more clearly, which was why he hurried even more to come to the entrance. Removing Leilani's cramped fingers from the door, he grinned at Five-0.  
“Hi. Hello. I'm glad you responded to my invitation.”  
“You did what?” Leilani glanced at Keanu from her light brown eyes. But he did not react, but just pushed his sister aside.  
“Come in.” Five-0 slithered past the twins into the house, while they were doing a small eye duel. “This way please. Leilani, get our guests a few drinks from the kitchen. We'll be in the garden.”  
The team followed Keanu, while Leilani's furiousness continued to rise. But one of her personal rules was that she never clarified disputes with her brother in public. So she trudged with hard steps into the kitchen and thought about the most colorful curses that she could later fling at Keanu.  
“This bastard, this damn little one ... No way ‘I've got enough so we do not have to go shopping for a few days'. Yes, sure, bollocks!”  
Several bottles in her arm she stomped through the door onto the terrace where the others were standing. All except for Steve and Danny, who were a little further in the garden and spoke gesticulating wildly with each other. Leilani put the bottles on the table and crossed her arms in front of her chest.  
“Don’t stint yourself – help yourself. I'm in the kitchen.” With that she turned and went back again.  
Kono gave Lori and her cousin an uncertain look before she asked, “Do you still think it's a good idea that we came here? Agent Shaw did not look very enthusiastic.”  
Chin shrugged.  
“I think her problem is that she did not know anything about our visit. That her brother just presented her accomplished facts.”  
“Chin is right,” said Lori, sitting on one of the white basket chairs at the table, reaching for one of the bottles, which contained naturally bitter lemon lemonade. “I like to think of Agent Shaw as a woman who likes to control the things around her. If that doesn’t happen, as now, then she might react full of rage and aggression. She is professional in working life, but I believe that she is more than willing to give in to these feelings more emotionally in private, and that this can reach severe dimensions.”  
Chin and Kono nodded slowly, confident that they would never be the target of this side of Leilani Shaw.  
“Where went my sister?” Keanu came out of the garden, where he had seen at the barbecue, to the patio and looked around searchingly. A loud clanking from the kitchen made him grin. “Oh, I hear.”  
“You know, Agent Shaw, maybe we should leave,” Kono said uncertainly.  
“Course not,” he waved off. “I'll talk a few words with my sister and then she'll calm down. She is sometimes a little stormy, but I know how to deal with her. So make yourself comfortable. The meat will soon be on the grill.”  
'And hopefully it is not mine,' he thought, and went to follow his sister into the kitchen.

He quietly closed the patio door behind him and watched Leilani pounding furiously from one cupboard to the next, picking up different dishes. As she fiercely closed the cutlery drawer and turned to him, he put his hands into his trouser pockets and just looked at her.  
“It is better to ask for forgiveness than for permission,” he said calmly.  
“That's mean,” she hissed, gesturing with the forks in front of his face. “To quote now one of Gibbs' rules! If he knew what you did, then ...”  
“He would probably say that I’m right!” Keanu pushed himself away from the door, went to her and took her the cutlery away. Sure was safe. “Listen, lil’, I don’t understand why you can’t stand McGarrett.”  
“Of course you can’t,” Leilani snarled. “He doesn’t behave in a superior manner towards you! He also addresses you with your rank! He recognizes that you are a full-fledged agent!”  
“And to you he doesn’t?” Keanu asked his sister, who shook her head vigorously as she stamped through the kitchen.  
“For him, I'm always just Miss Shaw. Neither Agent nor Lieutenant, just a Miss!”  
Keanu grabbed her hands, forcing her to stop and look at him.  
“Okay, that could really be a problem. But listen to me.” She tried to get rid of him, but he grabbed her joints even more firmly. “Damn it, Leilani Shaw, listen to me!” She gave up the resistance and her shoulders sank.  
“Okay, what is it?”  
“I think you have to slowly convince McGarrett of you. Show what you can and then he will respect you. But up to then, remember that Five-0 is not just McGarrett. If, and I say expressly, if we have something to discuss with them, then speak with Williams, McGarrett’s SiC, or even Kelly. And should it be inevitable to speak directly to McGarrett, leave it to me.”  
She carefully unfolded her right hand and stroked her neck.  
“If you like.” A slight smile crept over her face as Keanu let out a relieved sigh. “Get out, Kea. Take care that something to eat gets ready. I'll come right away and I'll play the well-behaved missis.”  
“You and well-behaved?” Keanu asked, his eyebrow raised. “No way!”  
Leilani laughed and gave him a pat on the shoulder.  
“Twit, and now out with you!”  
Grinning, he took the plate with the meat from the fridge and went out again into the garden.

When Kono, Chin, and Lori heard the female laughter coming out of the house, the tension visible left them. Obviously Keanu had succeeded in pacifying his sister. As the kitchen door opened, a grinning Keanu stepped out, a large porcelain plate on his arms.  
“Guys, the danger is averted. At least for the moment,” he added in a lower voice. “That's why I'll take care of the meat now.”  
“Can I help?” Kono asked, really relieved that their presence had not resulted in a full-blown dispute between the siblings. Keanu shrugged, then looked towards the kitchen.  
“I do not know exactly. Just ask my sister.”  
Kono nodded slowly and after a quick look at Lori and Chin, who equally silent assured her that this was the right thing, she rose and went to the patio door, which was on the other end from the seat group.  
“Agent Shaw, do you need any help?” She asked as she entered the kitchen.  
Leilani, who had just taken the second bread out of the oven and looked at it with a sad look, turned around and shrugged.  
“I do not know Officer Kalakaua. Do you know how to get half burnt bread edible again?”  
“Unfortunately no,” said Kono. “But I know Steve and Chin Ho are wild on charcoal. What happened?”  
Leilani put the bread to the other, less coloured baguette on the wooden board.  
“I wanted to let it rest in the residual heat of the stove, but unfortunately it was too long.”  
“Which is probably due to our surprise appearance, which I would like to apologize, by the way.”  
“Never say you’re sorry. This is a sign of weakness,” Leilani said, but when she saw Kono's questioning face, she waved her hand. “Old habit. It will happen more often that Kea and I do something like that. These are the rules of our former training agent. For almost every situation he had some rules, maxims, whatever, and sometimes they break through. What happened today was not your fault, Officer, because Kea could have warned me. So don’t worry.”  
Kono laughed briefly, then discovered the salad, the steaks, the dishes, and the cutlery, and knew that along with the wooden board on which the breads lay, Leilani would probably have to go several times to bring all this out. So she went to the counter, took the wooden board into one hand, the salad bowl in the second, and grinned at Leilani.  
“So, on the one hand, my name is Kono, Officer Kalakaua I'm only on duty, and second if you need any help during the evening, grab Danny or Chin Ho.”  
Leilani looked at the young woman in amazement and then suddenly began to laugh.  
“I'll take you at the word, Kono.” She sniffed briefly and her eyes lit up. “I smell meat. Keanu has finally started to grill!”  
Faster than Kono could look, Leilani packed all the cutlery together with the napkins and the sauces into a small basket, hung it on her arm and loaded with all the plates she ran through the white door. Kono looked at her, shaking her head. This woman was simply not easy to estimate, but she was sure that she would get on well with Leilani Shaw.

Kono leaned back into one of the white chairs as she looked out in the garden. The sun had gone down, and a few garden lights brightened the lawn. In half-darkness, she could still see Steve a bottle of beer in his hand sitting in the hammock, which the siblings had hung up between two trees.  
“Excuse me for a minute,” she smiled apologetic, grabbing her drink and walking across the meadow toward Steve. “All right, Boss?”  
He shrugged, then slid a bit to the side and pointed to the free space. She sat down and looked at him questioningly. He pushed away slightly, gently rocking back and forth. They sat silently next to each other, but then Steve sighed.  
“I don’t know, Kono. I really don’t know it. It is not easy for me to admit it, but you were right. The twins are not as bad as I thought; so from the human point of view.”  
“That's good, is not it?”  
He shrugged once again, if he went on like this, he would still get sore muscles.  
“I don’t know; really not.”  
“Okay, then to a question you can certainly answer.” He looked at her curiously. “When does Catherine come home again?”  
Steve laughed and Kono grinned back. Fortunately, she had two years ago decided against her heart and for her mind. At the time when Steve had committed her to Five-0 from the beach, in the truest sense of the word, it almost took her from her feet. Steve McGarrett had then embodied all that she wanted from a man. Loyalty, strength, courage and understanding what 'Ohana means. But she'd known at the time that if she'd give way to that desire, then her time at Five-0 would probably be over and she just did not want to risk it. Five-0 was her chance to prove to all who she was and what she could, regardless of her name and her family. All that matters was she, and for that she was really grateful to Steve. Meanwhile, Steve had become part of her and she became part of his 'Ohana. They were now a family that took care of each other.  
“Cath will probably be here in three weeks for a few days,” Steve disrupted her thoughts.  
“And? Something special planned?” Fascinated Kono watched his cheeks assume a slightly red hue and she grinned. “Boss, you blushed. I've never seen that before.”  
He ran his hand over his face and immediately the seemingly impenetrable mask of the SEALs was back. He looked to the terrace, where the three others of Five-0 were talking to the twins.  
“And what do they do?” He inquired, distracting.  
“I think they still play the game from before.”  
“What game?” Steve asked, confused.  
“Well,” Kono cautiously rose from the hammock, knowing that they could be extremely pernicious, then handed her boss a hand. “Leilani told me before dinner that her instructor had some personal rules. I think Danny already had a few drinks too much because he came up with the idea that it would be funny to test their knowledge and let me say Keanus Cuba Libre are hellish.”  
“Question one: How many rules are there? And question number two: Who is ahead?”  
“I think about fifty and it was drawn when I left the table,” Kono replied to her boss.  
Loud laughter sounded from the veranda, and Steve watched as Keanu thumped his head on the plate. Leilani pointed out with her outstretched arm to her brother and spoke so loud that the two in the garden could hear it: “With the 10 you have always had problems, Kea!”  
“Another round!” It came suffocating from him and Leilani shrugged.  
“Only just because the prize for the winner is already set. Chi Ho, it’s your turn.”  
“Sounds like they all have fun,” Steve said slowly, causing Kono to catch up with him.  
“Come on, Boss. The twins don’t bite. Promised.”

When Steve and Kono rejoined the others, Leilani looked up and her eyes flashed with joy.  
“Hey you two, we've already asked ourselves where you are.”  
“We have only tested your hammock,” Kono said and sat back in her seat.  
“Oh, tested?” Keanu wanted to know and wiggled clearly with the eyebrows. “So you kids call it nowadays.”  
“What? No,” Kono denied, and Steve shook his head intensely. He and Kono? That would be like starting something with his sister. Then he asked himself, where was Mary currently? Maybe he should call her when he found the time. He sat between Chin and Lori, with the firm intention the next day to try to talk his little sister.  
“So how does this work?”  
Chin grinned and handed Steve a basket in which there were several notes.  
“There is a number on each of these slips, which stands for a rule. It's also on the note.”  
“Except for one,” he was interrupted by Keanu.  
“Yeah, yeah, the world-famous ‘Don’t trust a woman who does not trust her husband’“, sniffed Leilani. “There Gibbs must have been just once again in a divorce.”  
Keanu shook his head and made Chin continue.  
“You draw a note, read out the number that is written on it, and then the two start guessing. Who of the two,” he nodded to the siblings, “can answer the question the fastest, gets a point.”  
“The one with the most points wins and the loser has to completely clean the car of the other three times,” added Keanu.  
Steve grabbed the sheet of paper laying in front of Lori, who apparently played the judge and realized that the twins were still on the same level, and as everyone was looking intently at him, and he did not want to spoil the hitherto really pleasant evening, he reached for the basket.  
“Well, let's see.”

“I still can’t believe I lost against my brother,” Leilani was incensed, shaking her head full of half-feigned dismay. “It just has not happened.”  
“Once is always the first time, my dear sister.”  
Leilani turned to Keanu and stuck out her tongue.  
“I want revenge, just so you know.”  
“Oh, I'm scared,” her brother smiled, leaning back in his chair. He played thoughtfully with the label of his soda bottle. Even though the few Cuba Libre had been quite pleasant, he did not tend to drink too much alcohol, which is why he had now switched to lemonade. Taking a look through the now completely dark garden, he sighed softly. Somehow he and his sister seem to be lucky persons, because for what other reason could they have been transferred to Hawaii? Only because they had lived here for a few years? There were still many others, more experienced agents which apply this point. Not that he would complain about this. He was a Hawaiian through and through. The cold weather in Washington or even during the time in Annapolis had driven him almost crazy. That was why he had gladly accepted every mission in warmer countries, no matter how dangerous it might have been.  
He turned his head and a light smile crept on his face as he watched his sister completely relaxed speaking with Lori and Kono. Apparently these three had found each other. He tilted his head and looked at the two female Five-0 members. Kono was Hawaiian and fulfilled every stereotype that was associated with this origin, and Lori seemed to be the typical child of the well-to-do East Coaster. He could imagine her more than good in Kashmir Twinset and with pearl chains.  
He had never thought much of Gibbs's rule number12, the ban to start something with people you work with, but hadn’t he just met a woman who would satisfy his cravings and desires he would totally have a go with one of them. If Keanu was honest to himself he could totally imagine, even after only one meeting, that Florence Sullivan was just the right person to build a future with.  
When he was with her, everything was all right. Then he felt sobered, and the urge that kept him constantly to be a live wire and not let him sleep at night partly disappeared. He looked at Leilani and his gaze became thoughtful. Heretofore, she was his sedative, as well as he was hers. But Keanu believed that by moving to Hawaii much, if not everything, would change. The dark-haired was sure that his sister was not without reason so dismissive against McGarrett. It was said that opposites would attract, but one should not be too contradictory. He and Leilani had experienced this often enough. You need similarities with your partner, otherwise you don’t have much to talk about much too early and the relationship became a farce. With a little sadness he remembered a girl, whom he had met during his training in Annapolis. She herself studied at the Robert G. Merrick School of Business at the University of Baltimore, but she quickly admitted that she did so for her parents. She had actually wanted to become an artist, but she failed in the resentment of her producers, as she had called them when she was angry. His sweet little Mac, she had also had the ability to calm him. Actually, her name had been different, but since it had often appeared in her small group, they had designed different nicknames for the girls. She had become Mac, just like her last name. What had become of her? To his regret, they had lost sight of each other, on the one hand because she suddenly had stopped talking to him and on the other his first missions with the Marines had started. He had regretted that for a long time.  
A movement tore him from his thoughts and he looked up. Lori, Kono and his sister had get up together, and with a slightly tilted head, he let his gaze wander over the figures of the three. Not bad, really not bad. If you saw the three of them standing next to each other, you might get silly ideas. As if she had guessed what was going through his head, Leilani looked at him with a pinched eye, and his smile became apologetic. Silently, he formed the words “Sorry, Sis“, which only intensified her frown, but then she turned around and followed the other two into the house.

Actually, Leilani had only wanted to show the two women the toilet and get some drinks from the kitchen, but somehow it had become a small house tour, in which especially the equipment of the “private” office had elicited some envious sounds from Kono. The tour had ended in the living room, where the music, film and book collection of the twins was admired.  
“Are that really you?” Kono pointed to one of the pictures hanging in the living room on the wall. Leilani stepped next to her and nodded.  
“That was a really strange thing. In Annapolis, Kea and I had decided to go separate ways for the first time in our lives. He had joined the Marines and me the Navy. Actually, it was also really nice to get away from old stinky boots ...”  
“I heard that and I deny that fact from the bottom of my soul,” Keanu cried in through the open terrace door, which made the three women laugh.  
„Anyway,” Leilani looked at the photo that showed herself and Keanu in combat suits, both in the MARPAT pattern BDUs intended for operations in deserts, “Out of the blue I got orders to grab my stuff and get on an airplane, which was by no means uncommon at the time, so I was not thinking about it very much. When I got out of the transport plane nine hours later, a Marine approached me, brown-tanned like a solarium accident and hugged me. Our superiors had managed some things so that we could celebrate our birthday together and of course I had to take a small trip to ... well, in a not so nice area, so my trip was truly justified. After my return, this photo was made. By the way, the only photo we have of us in uniform together, except, of course, from our graduation party.”  
Kono casted a glance over Leilani's shoulder at Steve, who had almost unnoticed approached them and had heard the conversation. Shortly after the women had gone outside again, Leilani stretching her head, as if she wanted to challenge Steve to say something, he took advantage of this opportunity and went to the wall with the photo. It was easy to see how much the twins were happy that they could be together on their birthday. Steve frowned when something caught his eye in the background of the picture. He stepped closer, tried to focus his gaze, and then realized what it was. No, not what, but who. He saw his former instructor, Joe White, who shook hands with a person standing with his back to the photographer. But it was not necessary for Steve to see the person's face. He knew who that was! Also on which day and especially where this picture was taken. It had been the day when he had learned of his new assignment. That one that had taken him from Afghanistan, where this picture was created, to East Asia. If Leilani Shaw had also been there and also had to fulfill an order that had extremely unlikely only consisted of making coffee, then he had to stand up to the fact that she had at least a certain amount of field experience. Therefore, his suspicions were not justified. One last time, looking at the image of the Shaws in uniform, he turned around and went out to the patio again.

The twins stood together in the entrance door and watched amused how Steve sat the still slightly drunk Danny into his car, settled himself on the driver's seat and then drove off. As soon as the rear-lights could not be seen anymore, Leilani turned to her brother and crossed her arms in front of her chest.  
“Come on, tell me,” she said.  
“What?” he pretended not to know, closed the door, then walked to the living room, grinning.  
“I know you want to rub my nose in it. That you were right with your argument, that the people of Five-0 are not so bad. That little Leilani was once again so stupid and let herself be guided by her feelings that she again hasn’t thought. Come on! Tell me so I can get to bed; because, unlike you, I was up damned early.”  
He spun around quickly in annoyance and built himself up to her, because even if his sister had said this in an ironic tone, Keanu knew she was some kind of serious.  
“Never again claim yourself stupid! Yes, you might have your mistakes. Everyone has, because nobody is perfect. But you are not stupid! You are just a heart and stomach person, rather than a head person. This is nothing bad at all, because first you mostly recognize your mistakes and you have me, who hold your back in your whims. So calm down.”  
She took a deep breath and then gave up her tense posture.  
“Yes okay. With McGarrett I'll probably never party all night, but I've arranged to go surfing with Kono.”  
“Well, that’s something,” Keanu sighed, looking at the chaos of bottles and dishes on the porch. “You know what? Let's get that stuff in the house and then rinse everything together tomorrow. I do not feel like it anymore.”  
Leilani nodded slowly and together the twins eliminated the worst chaos. When they had finished, they stood at the stairs, which led to the upper floor, and Keanu pulled his sister into a hug.  
“Sleep well, little sister. Tomorrow we will take care of complicating the bad boys’ life again.” He gave her a light kiss on top of the head and went up to his room. On the half of the stairs he turned around again. “Oh, and Leilani?”  
“What?”  
“Didn’t I say it? Five-0 is not so bad.”  
When he saw her annoyed expression, he grinned and hurried to get the rest of the steps behind him. His sister stood at the end of the stairs and sighed loudly. It was clear that Keanu would not miss this chance.

Even if the night had already progressed far, Steve stepped onto the terrace behind his house, after bringing Danny home safely, and thought about the events of the day. Although he would never admit it openly, the decision to accept Keanu’s invitation was the right one. He had found out that Leilani was not as inexperienced as he had thought and the siblings were apparently quite nice. Still, he still was reluctant to work with them, simply for the reason that both he and Leilani have alpha personalities. They wanted to decide where to go, and two of a kind were difficult to reconcile. Steve leaned his head against one of the beams on which the veranda roof lay, and breathed in deeply. It would not be easy, but he was sure that they had taken a small step in the right direction. If he has something to clarify with the NCIS in the future, he would ask for the male twin. This would probably be the best solution for all involved parties. Taking a last look up into the night sky, Steve turned around and went into the house.


	8. The morning after

The white, floor-length curtains danced gently in the mild wind that blew through the open window. Into the noises of the night and the foaming sound of the surf from the nearby beach, a slight moan mingled. Slowly and thoughtfully the man's fingertips glided over the warm skin of the naked body beside him. His slightly tilted head leaned into his free hand he watched fascinatingly how the young woman began to stir herself under his tender stroking touches. The fine hairs on her arms stood up as she was overcome with goose bumps. Her breath was gradually accelerated as his hand slid slowly but firmly down her waist to her hip. She became agitated, but did not wake up yet, instead her face shrugged to the side and she bit unconsciously on the lower lip. This sight made the man himself breathe deeply, absorbing the pleasant odor that came from her. He let his fingers wander over her flat stomach. At the same time, he perceived every inch of the dainty body, which began to writhe slowly but steadily. He felt the scar on her hip, right where he had just been stroked along. An old gunshot wound. His gaze crept up again, hanging short of her breasts, moving up and down in the rhythm of her breathing, then reaching her face. He noted the fine freckles on her shoulders and nose. His hand slid down over her thigh, brushing a mole. With a satisfied grin he realized that, still sleeping, she had bent her knee and spread her legs slightly. He followed the tempting invitation and bent over to kiss her, while his hand founds its way to her center all by itself.

Heavily gasping for air Leilani sat up, the sheet she used as a blanket fell from her shoulders and gathered in her lap. The wind, blowing through the open window, gently swinging the white, floor-length curtains, felt cool on her heated skin. Leilani ran through her hair, resting her head in her hands, trying to calm her thoughts. She had often had such dreams. She found nothing unusual about it, but this time it was something different. She imagined still feeling the man's touch on her skin. The touch of a man she had assumed she would never think of him in this way. Still holding her head in her hands, she looked through the fingers at the alarm clock, which was on her night table. However, she had forgotten at short notice that she had concealed the display with a photo. Even with the dimming function, the display was too light. She had by no means something against been woken up by the rising sun, but she wanted to sleep in with certain darkness in her room. She slumped back to the mattress and directed her eyes to the ceiling, to which the clock was projected by an additional function of the alarm clock. Only half past five.  
Until her brother woke up, it would pass some time, but she had to distract herself urgently. Leilani straightened herself again, stroked her room with great strides, and opened her wardrobe. To get rid of the thoughts, she would probably have to complete a double training session today, for she still saw the images of the dream in front of her inner eye. Her hair flew around as she shook her head vigorously to get rid of them, but it did not help. With resolute movements she took out her swimming gear. A few moments later she left the house across the terrace, then plunged into the sea, willing to remain in the water until the waves had swept the thoughts of the man and his touches out of her head.

Slowly Keanu opened his eyes and squinted at the brightness in his room. Although his room was actually turned away from the morning sun, was the early day-light really annoying, especially when one had forgotten to close the blinds the night before. No matter how tightly he closed his eyes, it was not really dark again. So he turned on to his stomach, breathing calmly and deeply before he reached for his alarm clock; shortly after seven. Okay, he should maybe get up; otherwise his sister would get the idea to wake him with a bucket of water. Terrible, Leilani was such a dreadful morning person.  
This was one of the circumstances that had really annoyed him at the Corps: the wake up calls. Sluggish he sat up and swung his legs out of bed, stretching yawning. Finally, Keanu stood up, decided not to look in the mirror - he also knew without that his hairstyle looked like a bird's nest - and shuffled into the hallway.  
Coffee, he needed a strong black coffee.  
Slowly, he went down the stairs, knowing that his eyes tended to play pranks when he just got up, and he really did not feel like one or more broken bones. When he had arrived on the ground floor and wanted to turn towards the kitchen, the scent of the urgently needed life elixir rose into his nose. He smelled the scent, followed it like a tracker dog into the living room and spotted his sister, who sat with a steamy cup in her hand, knee-bent on one of the armchairs and looked out the window.  
“Tomorrow, sleepy head,” she said, without looking away from the sight outside. “There's still coffee in the kitchen. But you will have to cope with my style.”  
Keanu nodded, grunted briefly a thank, then shuffled to the kitchen. There he found in the pot still enough coffee for a cup, which he filled to the brim. After the first sip, he opened his eyes, suddenly bride awake. Heaven, hell and devil! How could his sister drink something like that? This brew was so strong that a spoon might dance on top of it. After a second, cautious sip, Keanu could almost feel the caffeine pulsing through his veins and waking up his spirits little by little. The cup in his hand the dark-haired went back to the living room and leaned against the door frame.  
“What's on for today?” He asked in the direction of Leilani, who had still not changed her position. But as she did not respond to his question, he repeated it again, this time a little louder, which caused his sister to shrivel, but not turn around.  
“Did you say something?”  
“Sister dearest, what's wrong with you? Yesterday evening was not so long at all.”  
Leilani shrugged, still not looking away from the window.  
“I'm just thinking,” she replied thoughtfully.  
Keanu laughed bitterly. „I know your brooding and your thinkers face looks different. So come on, Leilani, talk to me.”  
She sighed, but finally turned to her brother.  
“I did not sleep very well last night, that's all. Do not worry, kaikaina .”  
He raised an eyebrow skeptically, but knew that his sister would not talk to him until she was ready. So he just shrugged and put his cup on one of the sideboards.  
“Keanu!” Leilani shouted warningly, which made him raise his arms.  
“Hey, no drama. I'll get rid of the cup with the content you call coffee, but is more like tar. No panic. But I think we should get ready and head to the office.”  
After a quick look at the clock, his sister nodded, rose from the chair and stretched.  
“Come on, hush, Keanu. We don’t want to let the bad guys wait.”  
He grinned, shook his head, then went upstairs. The whims of his sister were sometimes really strange.  
When, fifteen minutes later, he drifted from the bath into his room drying his hair, his gaze fell on his black smartphone, which still lay on the bedside table, and a grin appeared on his face. Having survived the evening together with Five-0 and his sister, he could actually call Florence and make a date. After all, she had told him to call when he got through the evening. Throwing the towel over the door, he reached for his mobile, unlocked the screen, searched the contacts for Florence and dialed. After a short ring, at the other end the call was answered.  
“Hi Florence, this is Keanu. I hope I do not disturb you.”  
“Keanu? May I conclude from your call that your sister hasn’t bitten your head off?”  
Keanu laughed. “No, and she didn’t even touched a hair on my head. She was a little stinky for a moment, but I could calm her with a few specific words.”  
“I can imagine that,” said Florence. “So, why are you calling?”  
“Well,” he said slowly, passed his hand over his neck, “since we got on so well with each other yesterday, and you also said I should call when I got through the evening, I thought I could call you. Perhaps we could go out the next days?”  
At the other end of the line there was silence. The young woman was not sure if she should accept or not. Yes, she had a good understanding with the young agent, but he also had something which aroused a repulsive reaction. She could not explain exactly, but perhaps it was just because she was a little more cautious in general?  
“Florence?” The young man finally pursued.  
She shook her head. The times when the danger lurked behind every corner were over. She was safe in Hawaii. No one knew she was here. Well, no one who could not know it and they would certainly not have said it further.  
“Yes I'm still here. My next appointment just came in.” That was not true, but the other didn’t have to know that. “The day after tomorrow I would have time.”  
“Six o'clock at the Aloha Tower?” Keanu suggested.  
“Sounds good.” Florence reached for pen and paper and noted the date and time. “So then, see you on Thursday.”  
“I'm looking forward to it.” Keanu wanted to say something more, but at that moment the voice of his sister sounded through the house: “Kea, move your ass!”  
“Was that ...?” Florence asked cautiously, but also a little amused.  
“Jap, that was my sister. But I should do as she said.”  
“Do it well and don’t allow yourself to get down.”  
“I do not,” Keanu replied, then finished the call with a grin on his face. He really had a date with Florence.  
“I'm off,” Leilani's voice snapped him from the thoughts, “and you will put your mug away before leaving.”  
“Yes, Mommy,” he shouted back, knowing that Leilani could not stand it at all when he titled her like that. Just because she was a bit more orderly than him, she did not have to rehearse such an insurrection.  
“I'm neither your mommy nor your maid! So move your butt. I'm in the office and I want to see you there within an hour!”  
“Yes, Mommy,” Keanu could not resist, whereupon his sister left the house furiously. When on the ground floor the door fell loudly into the lock and shortly afterwards a motor in front of the house howled, he simply had to smirk. To annoy his sister was always fun.

Twenty minutes later Keanu sat in his car and was on his way to work when his phone rang.  
“What's the matter, Leilani?” He asked, as he had accepted the call.  
“Where are you?” She asked.  
“I'm on the J.A. Burns Freeway, near Kamehameha Highway. Why?”  
“At the Diamond Head State Monument a sailor seems to be a bit annoyed. The police is already on site, but because he is Seaman of the US NAVY ...“  
“Sure,” Keanu interrupted his sister, “we're in charge.”  
“Exactly, but the colleagues are all tied to the base and since I'm trying to find something out about our sword collectors I can’t go away either.”  
“All right, Lei,” Keanu said with a grin. “I'll make a turn to Diamond Head and then come to the base.”  
“Thank you, you're a treasure.”  
“As always,” he said, laughing then ended the call and turned the radio a little louder. The day already started well.

After Keanu had picked up the Seaman and placed him in the detention cell of the base, he entered the office and pursued the amusement that was offered to him. His sister was on the phone and wrote an e-mail at the same time.  
“No, I can’t tell you from what era the sought sword is, precisely because we are still looking for it. That is why I call you. - What does business secrecy mean? It does not matter to me whether the weapons have come to you in only a semi legal way. - I know you did not want to say that, but that's what it seemed to me. I just want to know where the swords came to after you had them, and if you don’t send me your customer list ASAP, it might happen that the origin of the swords suddenly interest me too. - Thank you very much. Yes, it is clear to me that the swords can differ according to the epoch. So much Google has already told me. I just need a list of all the swords you've ever sold. - Yes exactly. - The NCIS is very much obliged to you. - What? I told you ten minutes ago, what the abbreviation means. Just send me the list. - Yes, thank you, too.”  
She hung up and noticed that she was no longer alone.  
“Oh, good morning, sleepy head. How was Diamond Head?”  
Keanu stepped into the office and slumped behind his desk.  
“Only the combination of too much alcohol, too little sleep and a failed relationship. His ex apparently works on the Summit Trail and he wanted to talk to her, convince her to come back. However, she has her day off today what he didn’t want to believe. He thought her colleagues would slander her before him, which is why he made a little noise. I put him in the arrest to become sober again. Then we can then decide what should be done with him.”  
“Was he in uniform?”  
Keanu shook his head as response to his sister's question. Even though many people did not think so, but it did make a difference whether a Navy or Marine Corps member was wearing uniform or not when he was arrested or interrogated.  
“No, he was not. His shift would have begun only tonight, so he was still in civvies.”  
Leilani nodded and made a note.  
“Okay, would you take care about the paperwork regarding it? I meanwhile finished the file of Gunnery Sergeant Wolfe. Somehow I feel sorry for him; his wife dead, suddenly a daughter which he must take care off and then a procedure for going AWOL from the troop. He just wanted to do the right thing.”  
“And loaded a full of shit on himself,” her brother replied, who was already preparing a file for the Seaman.  
“Yes but …”  
“No,” he interrupted his sister. “When you oblige to the Corps, it’s your duty to respect the regulations at any time, and stand up for your comrades and your country.”  
“But ...”, Leilani tried again, but Keanu interrupted her again.  
“No, Leilani, I will not discuss it with you. Wolfe has made his bed and now he has to lie in it. Just like our Seaman. End of discussion.”  
She looked at her brother thoughtfully. Actually, he was right. Both the Seaman and Wolfe had sworn an oath at the entrance to the Navy or the Corps, and both had violated the rules in different ways and had now to deal with the consequences.

While Keanu was about to make his date with Florence and Leilani was ready to go to work, Steve was already sitting in his office at Iolani Palace and could see the arrival of his team with a slight grin on his face. When he entered Chin had a content expression on his face, which meant he had met with Malia for breakfast. For a couple of weeks the two speak again with each other and Steve hoped for his friend that the relationship would be permanent this time. Next, about ten minutes after her cousin, Kono came in through the glass door, the hair still wet from her morning surf trip. Finally, Danny and Lori entered the office together. Both looked as if they had a more than unpleasant night. Already when he had dropped Danny off at his home, Steve had guessed that he would not do well the next morning. As for Lori, she had drunk only two beers yesterday, but in combination with the light painkillers she still had to take because of her foot; it had been probably too much for her too. But as it looked at the moment, they would not have much to do today anyway, since they had no new tracks in their current case. Therefore, the slightly battered state of his colleagues was not really dramatic.  
It looked like the start in another, not exceptionally productive and therefore rather tenacious day.


	9. Trying to profile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to the case  
> and a date

In the next few days, they didn’t make any progress related to the two murders. For the team of Five-0, this meant mainly the processing of paperwork of past cases. The twins, on the other hand, came home late every night because they had to deal with all the smaller and larger offenses of the over 140,000 Marine Corps and Navy members in their jurisdiction. It did not matter whether they were dealing with drunken sailors, or the suspicion of dealing with prescription painkillers on an aircraft carrier. Therefore, Leilani was more than happy when her brother said on Thursday morning during breakfast that he would end work earlier this evening, because he had a date.  
“Thank the Surfing Gods for this suggestion, brother dearest. I really need an evening for myself. Preferably with a beer and a good book,” she sighed.  
“Just tell me that you want to read about Mr. Dick-like-a-beast and Miss I-am-continuous-lecherous doing the dirty, medieval sex,” he teased.  
His sister slightly blushed and then threw with the kitchen roll after her brother.  
“Ass! As if you were not thinking about doing it with your date tonight,” Lei countered.  
Keanu shrugged.  
“I don’t know. Of course it would tempt me, especially because it has been a long time ago ...”  
“Uargh! I don’t want to know it that exactly,” he was interrupted, but that only made him grin.  
“Well, I would not be averse, but I do not think it will happen.”  
Leilani nodded slowly, and asked: “Where are you going?”  
Her brother leaned back slightly, and said grinning, “Believe it or leave it, but the Rockabilly still exists.”  
“What? Not really?” Leilani leaned forward and clasped relaxed her cup.  
“Oh, yeah really. And it’s still run by Serge.”  
His sister shook her head amused and recollected. “Good old Serge; hardly to believe that he is still there.”  
“As I said, the Rockabilly is still open and I think she could like it.”  
Leilani took a sip of her coffee and tried to remember the bar on Dukes Lane. Back then, when they were still on O'ahu, they had been too young to gain entrance to the Rockabilly, but they had gathered in the parking lot with their bicycles, listening to the music that had forced its way out of the building.  
“Is it still such a dive?” She asked interested.  
“Oh, no, not at all,” Keanu decidedly replied, who had had a look on the website during the week. “It is now a locality of the somewhat upscale price class, but still with the rocky flair of former times.”  
“Is not that a contradiction?” His sister wondered.  
“Oh no.” He shook his head. “Not the way Serge did it.”  
“Then maybe I should take a look myself.” When she noticed her brother's frightened gaze, she smiled. “Don’t worry, not today, but sometime.” She stood up and put her dirty dishes in the dishwasher, then turned to her brother. “So, am I right in assuming we are going to the base in separate cars?”  
He nodded, got up and cleared his dishes. Then he grinned at her broadly.  
“The last one in the bathroom is a knucklehead.” Then he ran away toward the said room.  
“Hey!” She called after him. She was still listening to the laughter of her brother as he threw the door close and shook her head. Sometimes Keanu was just childish. But now she would have to wait until the bath was free again. She had renounced her usual fitness program this morning, since she was still worn out after the work quota of the last days. She shrugged and went into the study. Maybe she was lucky and there was something new in her murder case. While Keanu was under the shower, Leilani managed to start the laptop, enter the various passwords for her user account, and also the e-mail account, to look for news on sword collection requests and to take another cup of coffee. However, none of the search queries had made any hits and so Leilani knew that a long day would be on them again.  
“Leilani, I'm done,” Keanu said as he put his head in the study.  
Absent-minded, she nodded and then went to the bathroom. This day could just be dull.

 

“Steve?” Lori looked up from her desk at Five-0 Headquarters as her boss passed her office. “Do you have a moment?”  
He nodded and then entered: “What’s up?”  
“During the last few days I've been concerned with the question of how we can find a clue to our perpetrator. The request for collectors of Asian swords is still running and spit out a name from time to time, but these are usually some rich businessmen from the mainland.”  
“No really good clue,” he interrupted the blonde.  
“Exactly, therefore I thought I'd concentrate on what I'm here for.”  
“You want to create a profile?” Steve sat down on the small armchair and looked at the young woman questioningly.  
“Not only that, I will also try to reconstruct the past of the perpetrator.”  
“How is that going to happen if you do not know who he is?” If Steve was honest with himself, he had never really dealt with the question of how Profiler work. He had just taken the results. But since they simply had no other tracks at the moment, he was open for almost everything.  
“We have been looking for the same sequence of events, but the course of action of an offender changes with time. He learns, modifies his methods, gets better, and when one concentrates on something, deciphering the history of the deed, it will lead in some cases to suspects.”  
Steve nodded. He was more like the guy who just slammed and then asked questions, but at the moment they just had nothing to do, so Lori's suggestion was not the worst.  
“Okay, do it.” Steve stood up. “Grab Kono or Chin, too, if you need help. I just can’t approve of the two surfing and lazing around the beach.”  
“Yeah, sure,” Lori grinned. “As if you could resist the temptation to join them for much longer.”  
“If there is not anything new to come, even Danny will start surfing,” said Steve, causing Lori to laugh out loud.  
“Well, I think, even Danny can’t be so bored; at least he will never admit it.”  
Steve nodded and then went to the door. “Tell me if you have anything,” he ordered.  
“On it, Boss.”

“Okay, what do we have?” Asked Kono, sitting down opposite Lori and pulling her laptop to herself. “We know that the victims have not fought, that means they knew their killer or the attack happened so quickly and surprisingly that they had no chance of self-defense. That suggests that the offender must be quite strong, at least Mrs. Wolfe was a sporty, active woman.”  
“But Miss McKegan was not. Sure, she was not unathletic, but because of her figure, I don’t think she could defend herself against a tall, powerful attacker”, Chin interjected.  
“I agree,” Lori nodded, looking thoughtfully out of the window. “I also think he must have money. Even if we do not yet have a hit with the collectors' request, the quality of the weapon makes it clear that he is able to pay it.”  
“Then he has a not so bad paid job,” Kono guessed, which let the other two nod.  
“When we follow this thought, he either comes to narcotics, or has learned to deal with them during this job,” concluded Chin.  
“Okay.” Lori noted down what they had so far. “In addition, he must have a certain degree of education. Both Miss McKegan and Mrs. Wolfe came from the upper middle class and had the appropriate education. When he approaches them, he is polite, articulate, and excites no suspicion.”  
“What about his age?”  
“Miss McKegan was at the late 20, Mrs. Wolfe even ten years older. So our culprit is probably somewhere in between”, Chin answered his cousin’s question.  
“I think so too”, Lori meant slowly. “However, it could also be that he has illegally earned his money and has his well-paid job just outwardly. In addition, not everyone in the upper middle class automatically has a higher degree. Especially in this stratum there are many young people who are rebellious against their parents and the way they want for their children. Believe me.” Kono and Chin looked questioningly at their colleague, who continued quickly, “It is also possible that he can adapt himself to his victims and give the impression of an elevated middle class, even if he isn’t offspring of it.”  
“What about the sexual component?” Kono asked. “The previous victims were women. Were they raped?”  
Lori looked into the autopsy report, then shook her head. “No sign of sex in the hours before their deaths, at least not forced.”  
“Because the weapon is also rather extravagant, one might conclude that he wants to compensate something with the possession and has a low self-esteem. Since the deeds are carried out very purposefully, this leads to a high degree of cruelty and coldness,” said Chin.  
“You mean he's impotent?” Kono looked at her cousin in amazement, who raised his hands.  
“I don’t want to say that.”  
“Wait, wait.” Lori straightened up and searched for something on her desk. When she had found the in demand, she held up triumphantly a page of paper. „At the FBI there is a department that deals with behavioral research. They make the assumption that when a man stabs a woman, this can be seen as a compensation for rape because he is unable to do the act in the conventional way.”  
“So indeed impotent?” Kono probed, causing an unpleasant pull of face in Chin, whereupon the two women in the room grinned. Men and their best thing, always the same.  
“So,” Lori summed up, “we are dealing with a presumably educated, sporty man. Mid to late 30, who may have a well-paid job that allows him to get both rare weapons and narcotics to anaesthetize his victims.”  
“He's also impotent,” Kono stated amused with a wide grin that even broadened when her cousin gave a soft whine, while Lori shook her head smiling.  
“Okay, we should have covered the present. What about his past? Because when we know how someone became who he is, you usually find him faster.” Lori looked at her colleagues questioningly.  
“It's clear he is not from Hawaii,” Kono said firmly, straightening up. “Such a story, the development to a multiple murderer, would be noticed here. After all, only a few million people live on the islands and as the bad guys know the good guys here, some victims of our perpetrators should have appeared.”  
“It will make it harder to find a trail,” Chin said slowly. The mainland was just huge and finding a killer there was really like finding the needle in the haystack. “How are you going to do it, Lori?”  
“Miss McKegan was originally from Richmond, the East Coast, and Mrs. Wolfe lived there with her husband for a long time too. Perhaps we should start with this?” Lori brought up.  
“Yeah, great!” Kono rolled her eyes. “East coast, the most densely populated part of America, apart from L.A.”  
“But still a clue,” the blonde thought. “Kono, look for open cases from the east coast. Everything in which the victim was female between 20 and 40 and had been stabbed. When we finally have the list with the sword-gatherers, we can reconcile the names from the cases, both victims and suspects. Perhaps there are some similarities.”  
“What time should I consider?” Asked the young Hawaiian.  
“I'd take the last ten years. Nobody has the ability to perform deeds so calmly without a long lead-time.”  
“What about the positioning of the corpses? Shouldn’t Kono pay attention to that, too?” Chin said, and Lori thought for a moment.  
“I would not do it,” she answered firmly. “The position testifies to self-confidence, calmness and control. Everything a starter does not have. Also that the two women were found in their houses, we should exclude from the criteria for now. Because you also need a certain amount of confidence, especially in yourself. You have to be able to address the victim, gain their trust.” Chin and Kono nodded slowly. “Well, so look for it, and then match your lists. Maybe we get a few names. I will inform Steve about our preliminary profile.”  
“And then it’s time to wait,” Chin said quietly.  
“Oh, yes, and then we’ll wait,” the profiler replied as she reached for her crutches and rose from her desk chair.

 

It was just before 6 pm when Keanu parked his Shelby at the parking lot at Aloha Tower, stroke once more through his hair and then looked for Florence. She stood with her back to him in front of the shop window of a fashion boutique and seemed to be very interested in the displayed dress. Keanu approached her slowly from behind and said, “That wouldn’t suit you.”  
Florence flinched and then turned.  
“Hello Keanu,” she smiled as she recognized the agent. After work, he had quickly changed cloths in the office and was now wearing dark blue jeans with a slightly worn look and a dark blue shirt, the top buttons open and the sleeves loosely rolled up. She looked down at herself and, embarrassed, pulled a strand behind the ear, which had loosened from the loose knot. “Because you did not tell me where we are going, is right what I’m wearing?”  
He tilted his head and looked at the red-haired. She was wearing tight dark gray jeans, a petrol-colored light blouse, the opened buttons giving a glimpse of the white top worn underneath. She had also black, closed wedge pumps with a flat heel on.  
Florence began to feel uncomfortable under his gaze and lowered her head. “Well, you did not say where it went, so I just put something on.”  
He smiled encouragingly, then held her his hand. “As if you had read my thoughts, you've just picked the right thing.”  
“Where are you going now?” Florence asked softly as she took his hand. Keanu grinned at her broadly and jerked his head slightly in one direction, then inquired: “Have you ever been to the Rockabilly?”  
“The what?”  
“So not,” he smirked. “The Rockabilly is a bar here in Honolulu. She is on Dukes Lane and has been for ages. When we lived here before, Leilani and I used, of course, to be too young to have access, but we met with our friends in the parking lot and listened to the music. Serge, the owner, likes to give talents from the area the chance to perform at his bar and once a month he even makes an Open Mic Night and then the hell breaks loose. Today, however, is a normal evening, but even then a visit to the Rockabilly is a real pleasure”  
“And what exactly is the Rockabilly now?” The redhead asked, smiling as she walked along the streets beside Keanu.  
“Wait for it,” Keanu said mysteriously, pulling her with him.

A few minutes later they reached a building whose simple white façade did not allow any conclusions about its interior. Just a sign above the neutral white door, gave the name in bright light letters.  
“That's it?” Florence asked skeptically and Keanu nodded enthusiastically.  
“I know it isn’t very impressive from the outside, but trust me. It’s really great.”  
An eyebrow still bowed critically the young woman followed him across the street and stepped through the entrance. Shocked she stopped and looked around with big eyes. She did not expect this, after the absolutely unspectacular and unscriptural appearance outside. She stood in a large open space, which stretched over two floors. On one side was a long bar of dark wood and stools of the same material in front of it. Behind the bar alcohol bottles, which were decorated with blue and red lighting and served as decoration, were strung in a line. Just opposite was the stage, on which the performances mentioned by Keanu took place. It jutted half round into the room. Following the stage and around the central dance floor larger and smaller seating groups spread out. The furniture with the red leather cover exudes a chic retro charm.  
“Wow, that's just ... wow,” Florence was astonished and her companion grinned.  
“Upstairs on the second floor are some billiard tables and darts,” he said, looking around, finally finding some free seats near the bar, just at the right distance from the counter and the dance floor. It was possible to observe everything and to participate, if you wanted, but also at the same time have a relative calm from the hubbub, which would certainly increase later. “Come on, there's something free,” the brown-haired brushed his date to the small table with the two comfortable upholstered chairs. They were about to get moving when a deep voice held them back: “May I see your passport, young man?”  
Keanu turned around and a grin covered his face.  
“Serge, hey man, how are you?”  
The two men embraced each other and then Keanu introduced Florence.  
“I am fine, the bar is booming, as you can see,” rejoiced the owner.  
“Is the backyard still as popular as before?” The agent asked smugly.  
“Sure,” Serge replied with a laugh, “even if the youth has changed, it has remained the same, only now that they are coming mostly with their cars and mopeds instead of bicycles.”  
“The only windows go out into the backyard, where the parking lot is,” Keanu told Florence, “so you can as a minor listen to the good music from the Billy there.”  
“And what is being played here?” Florence asked who was at least enthusiastic about the interior of the bar.  
“If its rock, we'll play it,” Serge grinned broadly, but turned around when someone called for him. “Guys, I wish you much fun. I have to pretend to work again.”  
Keanu looked behind the older man smiling. “The good Serge; hadn’t changed a bit.”  
Together they crossed the dance floor and then settled down on the places the dark-haired had previously discovered.  
“So, I do not know how it used to be, but according to the reviews I read on the internet, the food is really good and I think I'll,” he threw a quick look at the menu that was placed in one small metal stand on the table, “take the double shrimp burger with potato wedges and a longboard. What do you take?”  
“Oh, so,” Florence skipped over the menu, “I definitely take the seafood tartlets and for drink,” she thought again, “a Hugo, but white wine instead of sparkling wine, as I don’t cope it.”  
Keanu's grin became slightly devious. “What happens when you drink champagne? Are you going to be completely unrestrained and maybe even dance on the table?”  
Florence shook her head, a gentle smirk on her face. “No, it would be nice if it were. I am allergic to champagne for some reason, and I get a severe itching rash on my neck from a small sip and it can even lead to dyspnea.”  
The brown-haired looked shocked. “That does not sound nice at all.”  
“It is not,” she was interrupted by the appearance of the waitress and both quickly gave up their order, “but since I know it, I can avoid coming into contact with sparkling wine.”  
Keanu nodded slowly. This was an allergy of which he had never heard before, but that did not mean anything. During his training he had had a comrade who was so lactose-intolerant that the sight of milk alone meant he had to visit the next toilette as quickly as possible. This guy ended at analyst in some dark cellar but seemed very happy with it.  
“So, Florence Sullivan,” Keanu leaned over the table smiling after the waitress had brought their drinks, “I already know that you came from the far north of Montana to our beautiful island, but why personal trainer? Do not be angry with me now, but I always thought that would become those people who did not get round doing anything, but you seem like someone who was supposed to be a lawyer or something.”  
The young woman shrugged, then took a sip of her cocktail and finally smiled lightly.  
“Let's say, my grades were simply not good enough for an entry into the law enforcement sector. I could have become a cop, but that would not have suited my family.”  
“Why not?” He asked.  
“Can we keep it? Because of my grades and my family I decided to study sports and physiotherapy instead.”  
The brown-haired nodded slowly. “So personal trainer in Hawaii; not the worst job, if you ask me,” he grinned to lift the mood a bit.  
“Shortly followed by surf instructor in Hawaii”, Florence went on with his attempt. “So Keanu Shaw, you're an agent, have a sister and are a native Hawaiian. Anything else I should know?”  
“I have about 20 cousins, all of whom live on O'ahu or Lāna'i.”  
“Large families are normal with you, can that be?”  
Keanu nodded and let his eyes wander through the room. “It is not at all unusual. After our move to Atlanta, it were my cousins which I missed most. Many of them were more like my friends.”  
“I know that too well,” she said slowly. “I have a younger brother. We have really confided in everything and were not at all as you would expect.”  
Keanu tilted his head slightly, looking closely at the young woman. There were clearly traces of grief on her face.  
“You’re missing him, am I right?”  
Florence nodded thoughtfully, and the young man reached for her hand, which lay on the table, but that touch made her wince, only to make him frown and to withdraw his hand.  
“Yes, Liam was somehow always the rock in the surf, even if he is the younger. That's why I felt a little sorry when I moved to Hawaii, but I have not completely disappeared, and Liam knows how to reach and find me.”  
He nodded sympathetically and the two of them sat for a moment silent, until Florence again spoke: “So, Keanu Shaw, you are a federal agent. I mean once to have heard that one can’t apply directly after school graduation for one of the authorities. You have to work somewhere else or have a degree.”  
“That's true,” he replied with a smile.  
“And what did fit you?” She leaned forward with interest.  
“I was six years with the Corps.”  
“You? Wow, and how is an ex-Marine ...”  
“There's no such thing as ex-Marine,” Keanu interrupted energetically, pulling a strand of dark brown hair out of his face.  
“Okay, I'll put it another way,” she smiled. “How does a Marine, who is no longer on active duty, come to the NCIS?”  
“You know,” Keanu thought for a moment, then grinned, “the time at the Corps was really interesting and exciting, but the strict rules were a bit too much for me; especially regarding to early waking hours and hair cutting.”  
Florence laughed. “Yes, not very regular, what you have on your head.”  
He ran over the hair and smirked. “Is also hard on limit for the NCIS. But it was after my first time at the Marines definitely the right decision to apply there. Not only because I could be back with Leilani, but also because it gave me the transfer to Hawaii and the encounter with you.”  
Florence did not know what to say, and she was grateful for the fact that the waitress came with their food just at that moment, so she could press her answer down. The meal ran in relative silence, and afterwards they exchanged only a few personal details. After a while Keanu asked the young woman to dance, which she accepted smiling. But inside her, Florence still heard a small voice, which told her that she had to be wary of the dark-haired, however charming he was. That was why, when Keanu brought her to her car, which was also parked in the parking lot at Aloha Tower, she was more than convinced that there would be no second date.

 

Because of the busy week that lay behind the twins, they had unanimously decided to just work the day after Keanu's date normally and then – come what may – take a weekend off.  
Thus, on Monday morning, Leilani opened the offices on the JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam relaxed, but also strained in every cell. Since the discovery of Mrs. Wolfe’s body it had been almost a week, they had not made any progress. The request for sword collectors was still running, but the young agent was sure that if they weren’t able to present soon some sort of result, they would have to close the case. Although they had been transferred to the island as an independent team, they still had to do the normal activities of the NCIS, and this was not possible if they focused their entire concentration on a case where nothing new emerged. She put her shoulder bag next to the dark wood desk, started the computer and then went to the small kitchen where she cooked coffee. As she watched how the black liquid slowly flowed into the jug, she thought about the last days. Even though he had not talked much, Leilani knew that her brother's date had been a success. What he really deserved. Too many of his relationships had fallen to pieces, but that was similar to her. This was a side effect of the work as LEO. Lost in thought, she ran over the left side of the hip, where under the black tight jeans the scar of a shot was hidden. Her former friend had thought she would do office work, had never listened to her if she had wanted to discuss the non-confidential content of her work with him. That's why he was totally flabbergasted when Gibbs had called him and ordered him to the hospital. Brandon had reproached her at the time, had told her that she had not been honest with him, and he even wanted her to seek a less risky job that would fit better his family planning. This had been the moment when she had strongly expressed her opinion and drew a line.  
The coffee machine on the sideboard gave a gurgling sound, which brought Leilani out of her thoughts and she shook head. Brandon was in the past, even in the deepest of the Middle Ages. Quickly she poured herself a cup of coffee and went back to her office. She sat behind her desk and opened the various programs.  
When she read a message from Abby from Washington, she sighed softly and began to compare the data.  
When her brother arrived at the office an hour later, Leilani was already waiting for him.  
“We have a problem,” was all she said as greeting.


	10. On duty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is special in so many ways:  
> Its the longest of the whole story, was hardest to be written and it was partly inspired by the movies "True Lies", "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and "Moulin Rouge".  
> But I really love it. Hopefully you too.

Keanu looked at the data that Leilani had placed on the big screen on the wall.  
“Well I don’t see problems,” he said calmly, crossing his arms in front of his chest.  
“What? It is quite clear that we have a possible connection between Mrs. Wolfe and Miss McKegan; a link that forces us to work with Five-0.”  
“In my opinion, still no problem.”  
“Oh no?” Leilani built herself up in front of her brother, glared at him, then threw her cell phone frustrated at the desk. “When McGarrett pushes me away once more, his trip to North Korea will be like a day in kindergarten.”  
Keanu laughed uncertainly and then, to calm his sister, “Let me try to reach Five-0.”  
Leilani nodded, but then let herself sink into her chair with a pouting expression on her face.  
“I wish you luck, even if I doubt that you will have any.”  
“Wait for it.” He took his cell phone, dialed a number, and grinned when the call was picked up. “Danny? This is Keanu.”  
“This is fraud, little brother,” the young woman said, causing her twin to stretch out his tongue, then he left the office.

Danny Williams sat at his desk and thought because of boredom really already about to join his colleagues on a beach trip when his cell phone rang.  
“Williams,” he said, while he was still weighing the pros and cons of a beach trip.  
“Danny, this is Keanu.”  
The blond policeman straightened up.  
“What can I do for the NCIS?” He asked with a smile in his voice.  
“We have received a result for the request for sword-collectors and that makes a connection to your victim. On our list is a James Miller, CEO of Millson Ltd.”  
“This is the boss of Jennifer McKegan, our victim.” Danny pulled an eyebrow up, amazed. This information was completely new to him. The Shaws had to have better equipment or hit a backdoor to get the results faster than Five-0.  
“I know. Listen, Leilani is already mega-pissed, because your boss constantly rejects her calls. She has tried several times to call him to inform him about our discovery.”  
“And Mr. Mega-stubborn won’t listen to her?” Danny grinned broadly.  
“You got it,” Keanu said, laughing. “So, my suggestion would be that you're trying to figure out where Mr. Miller is right now, and we'll check if there are any actual connections to the Wolfes.”  
“And what do you want to do if there are any?” Danny straightened up in his chair and listened to the agent's suggestion. “That sounds really good. So we'll do it.” Then he said goodbye to Keanu, leaned back and thought for a moment as he looked through the windows of the office to his boss. The agent's idea was perfectly reasonable, but Danny also knew Steve would not agree without resistance.

“Chin, can you check if James Miller is already on the island?”  
The dark-haired looked up. “Why that?”  
Danny looked over his shoulder and then quickly closed the door to Chin's office.  
“The Shaws have found James Miller's name on a list of collectors for Asian quality weapons and now want to offer us a cooperation.”  
“That will not please the boss,” Chin said, smirking.  
“I know. But we will tell him only if we could establish an actual connection between Miller and the two victims; means more than the working relationship of Miller and McKegan.”  
Chin could only agree. His experience as a policeman had taught him a lot. One of it was that even if you were working at Five-0, you could not do anything without a reasoned suspicion. If you did, you would get an earful from your superior and especially from the governor.  
„Can’t you make Miller's screening? Lori, Kono and I are still sitting on the perpetrators' profile. The type is not really easy to analyze.”  
“What have you up to now?” Danny asked.  
“We are absolutely in agreement that the offender is very likely impotent and that the stitch wounds therefore depict a kind of compensation.”  
Danny grimaced as well as Chin had done before when the first time the possible sexual incapacity of the perpetrator was addressed.  
“That was my reaction too,” his colleague replied grinning. “But everything else, such as origin, living conditions and also age are a big question mark. I think it will not be easy to grasp him, and if only because he makes a mistake and we can convict him.”  
Danny nodded slowly, then turned towards the door, pleading the Hawaiian: “Try to find something. I will not have to close this case unsolved.”  
Chin agreed with the blond, because he thought the same. Unsolved cases were never good and so far Five-0 had, at least in this part of their job, a clean slate.

It was just before noon, when Danny reached for his smartphone with a slightly sore stomach and dialed the number that he had saved in the morning.  
“Keanu, here is Danny. I found something.”  
Just seven miles further west, the male Shaw sat up in his desk chair and ran through his hair.  
“Tell,” he demanded.  
“So, Miller has been on O'ahu for three days and has been quartered at the Hilton. However ...”  
“However what?” The agent interrupted.  
“I have done a bit of magic and learned that he has already checked out again today.”  
“Is he leaving the island?”  
“No.” Keanu could hear the policeman looking for something on his desk. “Apparently, Miss McKegan's report was so convincing that he rented a villa at Diamond Head. He will soon be there, and he will also do the necessary negotiations about the expansion of his company there. For this reason he has already planned a larger festivity for tomorrow. He wants to ensnare his potential clients for the idea, to give Millson Ltd. their money.”  
“Do I want to know how you managed to get all the information?”  
“No,” Danny laughed, “you do not want that.”  
“Okay,” was Keanu's long-drawn answer. “What do you suggest shall we do with this knowledge?”  
“Listen, I have a crazy idea.”  
The agent listened and then had to agree with the blond. This idea was perfect and totally crazy.

“No! No way!” Leilani looked at her brother, shocked. “You can’t be serious.”  
“Listen, Lei, the guy is a Haole. He knows almost no one on the island, so he will not know who McGarrett is. Since Five-0 is involved with their victim, we must work together. You simply go in there together, mingle with the guests and see how the land lies.”  
“Why me and not you?”  
“Are you really asking me that?” Keanu laughed incredulously. “As if you and McGarrett will let someone else do that without constantly chatting in between? No, it must be both of you.”  
Leilani thought and then sighed. “Okay, for my sake. But if he lets out one of his stupid sayings, I'll do him in.”  
Keanu nodded, fished for his mobile phone to call Danny and tell him his sister had agreed with the undercover op.

“Excuse me? I'm supposed to do what?” Steve complained.  
“You and Agent Shaw, you go to the party and watch everything closely. We others are waiting outside the villa in the surveillance car, just in case something goes wrong.”  
“Why she? Why not Lori, or Kono?”  
Danny laughed incredulously. „Really? Lori, who still has to walk on crutches, or Kono, who is known for her past as a surfer and her friendship with Ben Bass far and wide and therefore also could be recognized by the guests? Be honest, Steve, it can only be you both.”  
Steve folded his arms in front of his chest, took a deep breath, then sighed. “Okay, if it's necessary. But if she reacts only once arrogantly, then I can’t promise to restrain myself!”  
At that moment, Danny's phone rang, and after a quick glance at the call recognition, he smirked. “Apparently we have a plan.”

The next day the Five-0 team was at its headquarters and was about to prepare the mission when the door opened and the Shaws came in. When Danny saw Leilani's outfit, he could not stop staring at her admiringly. She wore a strapless, almost knee-long, tight-fitting black dress, the skirt of which was laid in light folds. Through the ten-centimeter-high high heels, her trained legs seemed almost endless. The brown hair she had put in light curls that curled over her left shoulder.  
“So, where is my date?” The word date she almost spit out. At this moment, the entrance reopened and Steve stepped in, gazing attentively. “Everybody ready?”  
Leilani turned around and the first and only thing that shot through her head when seeing Steve in a tuxedo was, “James Bond is alive.” The leader of Five-0 could without any problems been a successor to Daniel Craig for the role of his Majesty's secret agent; at least in her opinion.

“We'll take the Camaro.”  
“What?” Leilani looked skeptically at Steve and wondered if he really meant his suggestion. “In this case we can directly drive in with lights and siren. Everyone on the island knows that Five-0 has a silver Camaro in the fleet. No, we'll take MY car!”  
“The Camaro!” The dark-haired man built up in front of her and tried to intimidate her with his height of one eighty-five.  
“The Shelby!" As she was usually only ten centimeters shorter than him, but this difference was compensated by the high heels today, they were at the same height and she also folded her arms in front of her chest. The two glared at each other until Keanu interfered and tried to settle: “Guys, why don’t you take my car?”

Finally, Steve and Leilani had simultaneously stretched out a hand in the direction of the male twin, so that he could hand over the car keys. Because when Steve was honest, the young agent was right. The Camaro was now simply too familiar, and the twins' cars also radiated a certain amount of wealth, which was necessary in this mission and if they wanted to do justice to their legend. Keanu had looked for a moment between Steve and his sister, and finally handed over the keys to the Commander, which had given him an angry look from Leilani.  
“No comment, sis. First, the Commander and I are about the same size that means the seat does not have to be changed. Secondly, how would that be when you come to the mansion and a woman sits behind the wheel, and thirdly, you know that you can’t drive with the slippers you wear. So be a good girl and do what you are told.”  
Behind the three, still leaning comfortably against the big table, stood the laughing Five-0 team. It was simply delicious how Keanu handled his sister, but it also made clear why they were a team. Everyone else would have felt the behavior of Leilani, as well as that of their brother, so many times as inappropriate. Especially when she felt insulted by Keanu's comment, her arms crossed in front of her chest, and then pocketed him a heel in his foot, which ended in a yowling on his part.  
“All right,” Chin said, “since that is now clear, we can go.”

Steve stopped Shelby in front of the high, wrought-iron gate, which limited the entrance to Miller's villa, waiting for the Security coming to them to match up their names with the guest list on a tablet.  
“Name?” The broad-shouldered man muttered as he bent down to the driver's window.  
“Edwards,” Steve said firmly, causing a growling from the InEar that both he and Leilani wore. But they kept their cool, but friendly smile, which should show the security that this verification was annoying, but they knew quite well why it was done.  
“All right, they are on the list,” he turned to a colleague who went out of the way. „I wish you a nice evening.”  
Steve nodded and drove slowly off.  
“Just for you to know, at some point, we should talk about why the name of Step-Stan must always be mentioned in such assignments,” came Danny's acidified voice.  
“Look at it this way, Danno,” Steve smirked, “if our cover gets blown and someone becomes angry, Step-Stan is the duped.”  
“And then Rachel jump down on my throat, or what? No thanks! We urgently need a new cover name.”  
“We'll think about that next time,” Steve said, stopping in front of the front door, waiting for the park service to open the door.

Leilani listened to the teasing of Five-0 half-heartedly, mainly focused on the impending deployment. It was not the first time she went undercover, but she hadn’t yet got used to it.  
She still remembered her very first mission. At that time Ziva was supposed to play the criminal couple with DiNozzo, but the Israeli had caught a big cold a few days before, and therefore was not available. So she had had to take over, which was like a jump into the ice cold water for her. Gibbs, Vance and she had talked about whether she would make minor undercover ops, but that had still been very distant future music. She thought at least.  
Through Ziva's illness, she had to read into the plan and the complete assignment of the mission within a day and had to acquire the legend of her person. At first she had felt stiffened and unnatural, and she had thought everyone had to recognize immediately that she was not the one she pretended to be. She had become more and more tense and DiNozzo had not made it easier with his stupid sayings, until she suddenly had heard the voices of Keanu and Ziva from the InEar. Together her brother and the Israeli had managed to calm her down and she had get over and done with the mission to the satisfaction of everyone. But even if she had to slip into several roles several times afterwards, this was not an aspect of her work which she gladly took over. She was rather someone who was looking for information and then led a team to catch a suspect. She also preferred make her way through a jungle or wander through the desert. Thereby it was not necessary to act according to a fixed legend, and then also with a partner who had problems with her.  
She guessed that McGarrett did not trust either her or her skills as to this mission, and so it would be doubly exhausting.  
The young agent took another breath, shook away the thoughts of the past, brushed over her dress, and then reached for the hand she was offered by the park service.

Steve circled the hood of Shelby. When he was honest with himself, he envied the twins a little for naming such cars their own, although the Camaro was not to be despised, which he always “lent” himself from Danny.  
He reached the passenger door at the moment when a black shoe appeared, which made the conclusion of a really well-tanned slender leg. Steve closed the button on his jacket, watching closely how his partner was helped out of the car. As she stood, she stroked the black dress and then raised her head. Thoughtfully, he frowned. If he was honest with himself, then there was something like uncertainty in her bright eyes, which only strengthened him in his opinion about the young agent. She was too young, too inexperienced, too ... Just not suitable for this kind of operation. His gaze darkened as he offered her his arm, and together they went up the few steps leading to the front door.

While Leilani was still trying to calm down, she got out, brushed again over the dress and then looked at him. The gaze of blue eyes that hit her was anything but friendly. She straightened her shoulders, stretched her chin, then took the offered arm and looked at him from the corner of her eyes.  
“You could at least pretend to be in your role, Commander,” she hissed.  
“I'll do that at the moment, Miss Shaw, when you follow your legend as well,” was his answer.

About 50m from the large gate, where the dark blue Shelby had just disappeared a few minutes ago, there was now a beige van. On the sides the name of a well-known laundry was to be read in large letters. The interior, however, was equipped with some technique which enabled the five inmates to follow every conversation from the villa. While Danny and his team colleagues argued whether it was necessary to use his wife's new husband's last name, Keanu set up his laptop in a free place and let his fingers dance over the keys.  
“What are you doing?” Kono asked as she noticed his action.  
“I would like to have some eyes in the house. Ears are quite nice, but I would also like to have a video,” the agent replied, still concentrated at work.  
“We've already tried that. However, the monitoring system is multi-firew ...”  
“I'm in,” Keanu interrupted Chin, smiling. “Most people forget how vulnerable a wireless network is. Even if they protect themselves with high fences, guards and more than biting dogs, the WLAN is usually a backdoor, which is also mostly very well hidden; just as in this case.”  
“And how did you find the backdoor?” was Chins very interested question. Because the fact that they could not see what was going on in the estate had also caused a little stomach ache to them.  
“I had technical computer science as a specialty in Annapolis,” was the simple statement Keanu’s, who ran over his neck, then tilted his head as he listened to the conversation of McGarrett and his sister. “That will never go well,” he told the others, who silently agreed with him. Two alphas in action: that could only end in a catastrophe.

As soon as they had reached the entrance door, Leilani's complete attitude changed, so obviously, that everybody would have noticed it. She really looked like someone who was very familiar with this kind of event. When the two reached the host, who greeted each newcomer, flanked by two bodyguards in the foyer, nothing could be seen from her previous uncertainty, which resulted in a short, astonished raise of Steve's eyebrow.  
James Miller was a slender, almost gaunt, man in his late forties with short, light blond hair and dark brown eyes, which seem almost black. Steve smiled kindly, but coolly, from above, and held out his hand.  
“Mr. Miller, I am glad that you receive us today.”  
“Well, if I knew who you were, I could say whether the joy is entirely mine.”  
Miller's voice was gruff, with a slightly oily undertone, which chased Leilani a cold shudder over her back.  
“Edwards, Stan Edwards,” Steve said, naturally.  
A spark of knowledge glowed in Miller's dark eyes. Even if Steve had been joking about the fact that if this operation went down, everything would fall back to Stan, so he was the best legend they could have chosen for this party. After all, the good Step-Stan built hotels, both on the islands and the mainland, and if they were ready to open, he would need the goods and services Miller’s company offered. Thus he was a more than worthwhile goal for Miller's desire of new clients.  
“Glad to make your acquaintance, Mr. Edwards. And you are his wife, I suppose?”  
“No,” Leilani stepped forward, “Naomi Walters. I am Mr. Edwards’ financial expert and business partner.”  
Miller reached for the young agents hand and breathed a kiss on it. A gesture which he thought was elegant, but aroused a slight nausea in her. She did not know why, but Miller was disagreeable to her from the first moment, and he had something on him that caused her neck-hairs to stand up.  
“I wish you a nice evening and maybe we will have the opportunity for a longer conversation later,” Miller offered, letting go of her hand. Leilani resisted the desire to wipe it at her dress. A slight smile played around Steve's mouth as he could read the disgust on her face, trying to conceal what she actually did well. But she could not deceive him.  
“Don’t worry, Shaw, as soon as we're out of sight, you can go to the next bath and wash your hands,” he whispered to her as they headed toward the reception room. Her eyes widened in surprise. He had called her 'Shaw', something that was definitely an improvement to earlier. Perhaps this operation would not be a complete disaster?

They stepped through the door and remained stunned. They did not expect that, even after seeing the ground plans. This was no longer a room, it was almost a hall; a room in which a band, several round tables and a not to be despised dance floor were found.  
“Awesome”, it escaped Leilani’s lips and Steve could only nod.  
“Guys, what's the matter?” came Chins voice over the InEar.  
“We're just in ... well, I'd call it a ballroom. Something that could not be seen on the plans,” Steve said, looking at Leilani to make it look as though he was talking to her.  
“Excuse me? A ballroom?” Chin shouted. Steve and Leilani heard about their InEars a hectic typing and they suspected that either Kono or Keanu, or both, were looking for more up-to-date plans.  
“Oh, I know why,” Keanu apologized. “The hall was designed as a smaller annex, which was then probably connected with the winter garden. That's why we had no idea, because it was originally not planned as such.”  
“Well, fine.” Steve went with Leilani further into the room. They were looking for a place at one of the tables from which they had a good overview. “What unpleasant surprises will there be either?”  
The five investigators in the surveillance car looked at each other and could only shrug their shoulders because Steve's question was more than justified.  
“Okay, listen. Keanu, if McGarrett and I somehow manage to distract Miller, you'll sneak into the house and search for his collection,” Leilani told her brother.  
“How do you want Miller to convince to pay attention to us, Shaw?” Steve asked for an explanation, but only got a shoulder shrug.  
“This part of the plan I leave to you, Commander, or am I supposed to do all the work alone?” She grinned smugly.  
His face twitched with resentment, which caused Leilani to give him a mocking smile and let his colleagues in the surveillance car shake their head. If they were able to get over this evening without any dead, it would be a miracle. Steve's possibly more than snapped out answer was hindered by the appearance of several waiters, who moved between the tables and offered the guests refreshments, but also small snacks.  
“So, now seriously, Commander, how are we to distract Miller?” the agent probed.  
Steve leaned forward, looking thoughtfully through the room. “I think we have to behave inconspicuously at first, and at some point begin a conversation with him.”  
“Yes, that's right,” Leilani said, “but if we only talk with Miller, his bodyguards will not be distracted, nor the people at the surveillance cameras. We really have to deliver something ... Bombastic.”  
“Oh no!” Keanu straightened up inside the surveillance car. “We're not going to do a number here like the one in Washington. Just forget about it.”  
“What? No! I'm not that stupid!” his sister replied indignantly. “I didn’t want to say that. I just wanted to point out that our distraction must be big and evident and obvious that all attention is focused on it. No one is allowed to notice Keanu creeping up and down the grounds.”  
“Do I want to know what was in Washington?” Kono asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly.  
“No, you do not want that,” growled Leilani, stroking her right upper arm.  
Looking closely, one could see that there was a narrow, long-drawn scar. She had got it in one of her first assignments for the NCIS. From a normaly safe source they had learned that an attack on an American city was planned. They had had to think a trick; a ruse, through which they should get more detailed information. A ruse that had backfired and ended with a blown-up warehouse on the outskirts of the city. Until today, Leilani was sure she was not to blame. She had only been the first to go through the door, causing the tripwire to set off. An unpardonable beginner's mistake, which could have ended worse than with a few ringing ears at her colleagues and a metal splitter in her arm. She shook her head. This was already years ago, and besides her scar, and, well, the entry in her staff record, remembered nothing. But who cares about this? Her following successes certainly spoke for itself.  
“So,” she directed the conversation again to the problem before them, „how do we cause here a bit turmoil?”

A few minutes had passed since Leilani's question. Each of them had already made a suggestion, but everyone had been immediately rejected because of their impracticability in view of the situation. In the meantime, Miller had also entered the hall, had taken up position at the far end and kept everything in view. Now and then he waved over one of his guests to make a short conversation with him, but all in all he just watched everything that happened.  
“I believe that will be an absolute disaster,” Leilani whispered and ran across her neck. “We'll never make it.”  
“What is this negative attitude, Shaw?” Steve looked at her questioningly. Even if he had to give her right, he would rather jump voluntarily into a pool full of sharks, than to admit loudly that this miserable wait-and-see was tugging at his nerves. They just could not make progress.  
“Negativity? Be honest, Commander, in view of the current situation, we will never be able to even search one room in this house, let alone everything.”  
“Then we'll just come back some day later,” was the only answer that came from the dark-haired man at that moment.  
“And how shall we do that?” Leilani snarled. “We don’t get a search warrant just because of a suspicion. I do not know how it goes at Five-0, but Keanu and I need a bit more than just a gut feeling.”  
“She's right, Steve, and you know that,” Lori's voice came out of the InEar. “So, do we want to pack up everything and go?”  
“No,” growled Steve, “I'm not giving up yet.” He raised his head as the musicians began to play a certain melody. “And just an idea comes to me. Agent Shaw, you should be ready.” He stood, buttoned his jacket, then held out his hand to Leilani. „May I have the pleasure, Lieutenant?”

“Wait, Steve can dance? Did anyone know that?” Kono looked questioningly at the others, who were shaking their heads. “What about Leilani?”  
Keanu sighed. “As a teenager I only took two courses, the basic ones. But Lei wanted to become a dancer.”  
“What happened?” Lori asked, leaning forward with interest.  
“She already had an appointment for the audition at Juilliard, but then broke her leg in the last high school year. That was the end of the dream of professional dancing.”  
“Then she is good?” came quietly from Kono.  
“Hell yeah!” said the brown-haired agent, who knew exactly how his sister would feel now. She probably remembered how all her dreams had been shattered like glass. The knowledge, rather not-knowledge of what she was to do with her life, had depressed her deeply for a few weeks, and she had made no effort to fight for being on her feet again. But then, for some reason, she had regained her vitality and chosen a profession that was miles away from dancing.

Together, Steve and Leilani stepped on the dance floor, on which some couples had been dancing more or less skilled, and positioned themselves in the required posture. However, Steve let his right hand wander down her back and pulled her closer to him. She raised her head and light brown eyes met blue ones intensely.  
“No wrong thoughts, Commander,” she hissed.  
“Never, Lieutenant, never,” came even quietly back. “But we want to be authentic, right?”  
“Authentic in which way? We dancing tightly? Commander, I represent your financial expert, have you already forgotten?”  
Steve drew his eyebrows, but then tipped his head toward her ear.  
“Then we simply have an affair. Or do you have a better idea, Lieutenant?”  
She slowly shook her head to show that he was right, and followed him as he started moving with the left foot first. At the next move, the last bit of space that had been between them was closing and Leilani felt his knee rubbing against the inside of her thighs. A shiver ran through her, which she refused to analyze further.

“No Tango ... No, no, no ...” Keanu had begun to thump his head with the table in the car. “Anything but a tango.”  
“Too late, brah. They are already in full move”, Chin said with an amused grin.  
“Do you have any idea what the tango means? It's almost sex on the dance floor!” Keanu raised his head and looked at the others desperately.  
“That means Steve is just laying your sister and that in front of all eyes? How can you stay so calm?” Danny joked.  
“Not funny, Williams. Do you know what this could mean for the cooperation?” Five-0 members looked at him, suddenly serious. The disagreements between Steve and Leilani had been more than apparent. “But I'll think about that later.” Keanu glanced at the pictures of the surveillance cameras. “As it seems, the distraction works. I'm on my way.”  
Faster than Five-0 could react the dark-haired had left the van through the tailgate and had climbed over the fence.

Steve led his partner across the dance floor and was amazed at how well their steps harmonized and how perfectly she mastered the figures. This opened a whole new page of Special Agent Leilani Shaw for him; one that he never expected. But it was not just the wonder about her dance skills that concerned him. The feeling of her slender body at his, the movements that she was doing, how she clung to him over and over again, aroused something in him, confusing him, although he was not a man who was to be confused easily. He tried to concentrate further on his task, but this emerged increasingly difficult.  
“Spin,” Leilani hissed at him, and he understood what she wanted from him. He led her into a fast, circling movement, where she could take a look through the room and take in everything as precisely as possible. When she had her hand on his shoulder blade again, she tilted her head in his direction and smiled gently. “Our target is still on his place and seems to be hardly able to concentrate on his conversation partners. His bodyguards are also still watching us.”  
She broke from his arms, turned, before she slowly slid down. This brief moment of pause gave him the opportunity to take a look through the room himself, but it elapsed unused, because his gaze was clinging to her shock of hair, the jaws tightly pressed together. He leaned forward, reached for her arms, pulled her up again, turned her over and fixed her gaze.  
“Conclusion?” He asked softly as the song leaned towards its end and she nodded. He led them through a few figures, which ended with her leaning against him with the last note of the music, her left knee lifted and pressed to his hip, which caused him to strike from the joint higher over the thigh and to look her deeply in the eyes.  
This was the moment when he noticed that her eyes were not only light brown. They had also a light green tinge.

“We're sooo screwed,” came it from Kono. “Everyone who does not believe that they have perceived anything other than each other, now lifts the hand.” At once three hands shot up into the air. “Yes, I thought so too,” sighed the young Hawaiian.

Her chest rose and lowered frantically as she tried to get her feelings under control. This whole action had been a mistake from the outset! This dance was just the icing on the whole mess. They had managed to deflect their goal, but they were just as distracted.  
“Lei, Steve, all okay with you?” When Keanu's voice was to be heard from the InEar, she flinched.  
“Yes, Kea,” she murmured, still trying to regain her composure. “Have you found something?”  
“Not yet. But I'll tell you one thing, lil’one, if I am going to retire, I will live in such a shack.”  
“I’m sorry to tell you that, Keanu, but for that you lack the wherewithal,” Lori said, laughing amused. “Something like that federal agent or cop can afford only after a lottery win.”  
“What a pity.” Keanu sounded crestfallen. “So, I've just searched a bedroom whose wardrobe and its contents would make DiNozzo envious. Next, I take the study. But then I'm also done on the upper floor. The ground floor is up to you. I am definitely wrong dressed for the party down there.”  
Leilani allowed herself a smile, but she looked at Steve, to avoid suspicion. He could not prevent the corners of his mouth from turning to a smile, because for the first time since he knew the young agent, nothing negative could be seen in her eyes. The smile on her face was completely honest. So honest that he almost forgot that she had always driven him mad. At that moment, he even believed that if they had met in other circumstances, Sam's mention of her relationship status would have been quite welcome. If he had been solo as well, which was not the case. So he forced his thoughts back to the mission and his girlfriend, who was hopefully soon back on O'ahu.  
“Guys,” Keanu's voice snapped him from his thoughts, “I've finished upstairs and found nothing. What are we going to do now?”  
Both, Steve and Leilani, as well as the three members of Five-0 in the surveillance car looked at each other helplessly. This was not what they had hoped for the whole mission. But actually, it was utopian to believe that they could simply march into a house that the suspect only recently inhabited and ran straight into incriminating material, but an attempt had been worth it.  
“So,” Keanu said again, “it might get a bit of uncomfortable for me. I've got some bugs with me, I'll spread them up here and then I'll disappear again.”  
“Wait, that's it.” Steve grinned triumphantly. “We're bugging Miller himself, maybe we'll than find something to help us.”  
“But I don’t have any with me,” Leilani interjected. “I don’t know how this is with you, Commander, but I don’t run around permanently with my bugging equipment in my pocket.”  
“I hadn’t even expected that, Agent Shaw, but maybe your brother will find a way to give you one of the bugs so that we can it place at Miller?”  
Even though the young woman was glad that she apparently had now earned enough points with Steve to finally be recognized as an agent, she was disgusted at his rebuke and his really good idea.  
“Lei, this is a great idea, and since the stairs are free, I'll put one at the foot of the stairs and you can then do something with it.” Some moments later, Keanu spoke again. “Okay, bugs are placed. I am gone and remain well-behaved, children.”  
Leilani gently shook her head over her brother’s saying, then smiled begging for forgiveness into the round and rose from the table where Steve and she had just settled down after their dance. “Excuse me for a moment.”  
Steve nodded, as if the conversation of the last few minutes hadn’t take place. He looked after her as she left the hall and a thoughtful expression crept into his eyes. As it seemed, he really had to correct his picture of Special Agent Leilani Shaw, again. She was competent, committed and it seemed as that she could adapt to any situation. So, what was it that bothers him about her when it was not her lack of skills? Perhaps his team was right, perhaps his only problem was that she had just appeared without warning, and she was not afraid to tell him directly what she was thinking. With Danny and Lori, it hadn’t been different and now he wanted under no circumstances have to do without the two. He finally had to be honest with himself. The transfer of the Shaws to Hawaii was really an advantage. Both the NCIS office and Five-0 were relieved, and if a new co-operation between the two authorities became necessary, he would insist that it would the Shaws with whom he works. Because once you had grown accustomed to one another, and the cooperation ran smoothly, you should make use of this.  
He startled as the light pressure of a hand felt on his arm, and with confusion, he found out that Leilani was again on her place next to him and looked at him with a confident smile. Apparently, as he pondered his thoughts, he had not noticed how she had returned. “I have the bug, but how do you intend to install it on him?”  
Steve looked toward their suspect, who was still flanked by his bodyguards. He seemed to notice the resting look, looked at Steve and waved him over.  
“I think the problem has been solved. Miller allows us the honor of an audience.”  
Leilani looked at her suspect and pressed through clenched teeth: “Let’s get cracking!”  
Together, they stood up and paved their way through the tables to Miller.

“Mr. Edwards,” Miller greeted them when the two investigators had reached the table. “I didn’t know that you were such an excellent dancer, and I wonder what your wife would say to the show you just gave us.”  
Steve adjusted a chair for Leilani and sat next to her.  
“You know, Mr. Miller, the relationship between Miss Walters and me is actually purely professional. The way we have harmonized that far, surprised even us, hasn’t it?”  
Leilani nodded in agreement, but went systematically through all the ways in which Miller could get bugged. But none seemed to her to be feasible.  
“Since you do not have any obligation to Mr. Edwards, beyond the professional, would you then give me the honor to dance with me?” Miller held the right hand towards the young woman, with a lewd-questioning smile.  
Everything in Leilani blocked itself against it. Miller was just a greasy, overly confident man, but she suspected that this would be the only opportunity to separate him from his bodyguards, and if she would do it well, she could put the bug on him. So she smiled at Miller coquettishly after she had taken the little bug off her clutch and got up with a quick look at Steve, which should tell him that she had everything under control. “Of course, Mr. Miller.”

Together they entered the dance floor. Leilani was really glad that the band decided at this time to play a song to which one would at most be able to dance a waltz. She elegantly laid her hand on Millers shoulder as usual at the waltz. Miller grabbed the right, gave the signal by a light pressure and they began to move slowly to the music. Leilani's hand continued to rest on Miller's shoulder and when she was sure that his senses had been completely focused on her, she fingered the little bug under the jacket collar with a few clever movements.  
“So, tell me, Miss Walters, how did someone like you manage to get the job as Stan Edwards' right hand?”  
“Someone like me?” She raised an eyebrow and looked questioningly at her dance partner.  
“Well, you are quite tall for a woman, obviously only partly Hawaiian, but this is sufficient for your face to have an exotic touch. So, in my opinion, you could get a job with any modelling agency in this world. If you want, I'll call a few people. This is absolutely no problem for me.”  
“Did he really just say that?” Lori's bewildered voice came out of the InEar. Steve, who had answered the question with a hum, had now turned around in his chair and watched the scene on the dance floor. It really interested him how Agent Shaw would deal with this situation. So he could see exactly the fast movement of the young woman's left hand, by which she put the bug under Miller's collar. She smiled at him with a cool expression.  
“You see, Mr. Miller,” the team heard by radio, “there are indeed women in this world who have the conditions for a career on the catwalk, but do not consider this at all.”  
“So you've already thought about it?” Miller asked, pulling Leilani closer to himself, ignoring the actually prescribed dance position.  
“Well, Mr. Miller ...” Her voice sounded a little cold, but still polite enough, after all, she did not want to fall out of the legend.  
“Call me James,” she was interrupted. “Where we are getting closer to ourselves.”  
The brown-haired tried to suppress the disgusted trembling of her body. Inconspicuously, she tried to increase the distance between them, at least so that her upper body was no longer in direct contact with his.  
“Mr. Miller,” she emphasized, “it has always fascinated me to use my head and learn.”  
“Oh really?” He sounded honestly puzzled.  
Leilani hoped that this dance would soon be over, so she could get away from this disgusting mucus who was trying to undress her with his eyes.  
“Indeed. I speak several languages and had scholarship offers from some prestigious universities of this country and even if you do not consider it possible, I like my profession. I find it really interesting to see how something, let's say a hotel, develop from the planning to the final completion and I would not give that up for anything in the world.”  
At this moment, the piece of music ended, and Leilani was already about to turn away to leave the dance floor, as Miller tightened the grip around her hand so much that the only way to get rid of him was to break each finger of his hand one by one . However, given the fact that he had not really behaved wrong, this would not have been particularly good.

Keanu, who was now back in the surveillance car, meticulously observed the body language of his sister and took a deep breath.  
“Damn, that will not end well.” He tapped around a bit on his laptop, causing the next transfer to go only to Steve. “Steve, I don’t care how, but you should get Leilani away from Miller as quickly as possible. She's about to do something stupid.”

Steve did not dare to answer over the InEar. Instead, he cleared his throat briefly, because he had also followed the conversation between the agent and Miller as well as her changed behavior. So he got up from his chair, took out his cell phone and pretended to have received an important call. Speaking to this imaginary caller, he went to the dance floor and, after gently tapping the young woman’s shoulder, he held the phone out to her.  
“Naomi, excuse me if I have to interrupt you, but your brother's called. It seemed important.”  
She nodded, looked away from Miller and accepted the faked call.  
“Hello, what is?” She waited a moment, as if to listen to someone, then act as if she would say goodbye and hang up. “I'm really sorry, Mr. Miller, I have to reject your offer for another dance, but my brother needs my help.” She excused herself with a charming smile.  
“Of course, the family is always important. However, I hope that we will get the opportunity to catch it up.”  
Leilani gave an indefinable sound and went to her table to get her bag. Steve extended his hand to Miller.  
“Mr. Miller, it was really a pleasure,” he said.  
“Likewise, Mr. Edwards, and considering a cooperation for your next project, we can get together again.”  
The two men shook hands, then Steve followed his partner out of the house.

When the two teams met at the Five-0 Headquarters, Steve could see that they were all not really satisfied with the results. But both the still existing tapping of the surveillance cameras, as well as the hidden bugs, would provide them with information that would hopefully lead them to go again to Miller this time with a real suspicion and a search warrant.  
“Guys, go home and sleep out. Before we get new information, we can’t do anything anyway.” Steve turned to the two NCIS agents and handed Keanu his car keys. “Thanks for the car, Keanu and Agent Shaw,” he looked at Leilani, who stiffened under his gaze, “that was really good work, even if it had almost been a failure at the end.” With this he left the headquarters and went home, in the deep desire finally to get out of the tuxedo. It might look good, but was also hellish uncomfortable.

 

“I just can’t believe it!” The siblings had just returned to their house and Leilani was still cursing. “Couldn’t he just leave it? Did he have to put on another one and be as swanky as usual? As if he would have done better when receiving a more than immoral offer!”  
She kicked the shoes off her feet, trudged into the kitchen and took a beer from the fridge. Then, in the living room, she dropped onto the sofa, tucked her legs under, and fiddled around with the label of her bottle. Keanu had watched his sister's behavior, and there was a suspicion in him. A suspicion which he had almost since they first met Steve and which was now strengthened by the dance of the two. But he needed proof and he knew how to get it. So he took another beer and followed into the living room.  
“Ha, I know it!” Keanu thrust out as he went to the sofa. “I know why you reject McGarrett so absolutely and completely.”  
“Oh, and why?” Leilani looked doubtfully at her brother.  
“He fulfills every single point on your list and that annoys you!”  
She turned red and tried to hide behind her bottle.  
“I should never ever have told you about this list,” she muttered.  
Her brother laughed and saw himself more than confirmed in his suspicion, but he wanted to know it more precisely, best heard directly from her.  
“So let's think about it. On the list was not thinking in fixed tracks, speaking at least one foreign language, being spontaneous, as well as stylistic sense he should have a nice ass, then you want the same taste with the food and the music, adventurous would be nice, that he can surf and knows how to move on the dance floor and above all he has to be loyal. Apart from not knowing him long enough to know if you have the same taste, Steve McGarrett does pretty much hit every single point.”  
“Bloody Hell.” Leilani sighed and leaned back. She knew it had been a bad idea to tell her brother the ten-point list. These ten points had to be fulfilled by the man who was perfect for her, not completely because that would be impossible, but they were important for her. To have the list disassembled by her brother and to hear how Steve McGarrett fulfills almost every point on it, was nothing she could get over so easily. “That can’t, no, that’s not true!” she argued vehemently.  
“Why not?” Keanu straightened up and looked at her questioningly. Now that things with Florence were doing so well, he wanted his sister to be equally happy. In his opinion, Steve could offer her exactly that. They could build a future together, but he would always understand what this job means to her, simply because he understood the thinking of a federal agent. But apparently, his sister did not want to see the obvious. But he'd make sure she did. But one thing still was on his mind.  
“Lei, there's one thing left. I define sense of style a bit different.”  
“Style is a matter of interpretation, brother dearest, and now take your curious nose out of my affairs.” She stood up and put the now empty bottle on the table. “And I’ll go to bed now.”  
“Did the little dance with McGarrett tire you out?” He teased, giving her a meaningful look.  
She stuck out her tongue and went to the bathroom on the upper floor. Leaning on the sink, she looked in the mirror. Should it really be that simple? Should her aversion against McGarrett be in fact some kind of muddled affection? She shook her head at herself. Even if it was so, on her barbecue evening she had learned that he lived in a stable and happy long-distance relationship with a Navy Lieutenant and although she could be accused of much, but never that she would push herself into a relationship. So she shook her head repeatedly and began to remove her make-up. She'd get rid of any emotions for Steve McGarrett. She would bury them deeply inside herself and try to keep their relationship, which had improved a little after today's mission, completely professional.

~.~

The next morning the twins were still at breakfast as Keanu's cell phone rang.  
“Shaw. - Morning, Danny, what’s up? - For real? - No, we are not in the office yet. After yesterday evening we thought we would start today a little later.”  
“But that’s more because of Keanu than me,” intervened Leilani, who had already passed her morning run on the beach. Danny, who had best understood her because she spoke loud enough, laughed. The siblings were always good for entertainment. Since his sister had already interfered in the conversation anyway, Keanu put his phone on speaker and asked Danny to repeat what he had just told him.  
“Well, since we are not as lucky as you and our working hours are aligned to the mad, inner alarm clock of a certain Ninja-SEAL, we are sitting at the office since eight o'clock and are going through the recordings we received overnight.”  
“Is there anything interesting about it?” Leilani asked, as she began to clear the dishes.  
“Indeed, but you better listen it to yourself when you are here. Steve is just about to take care of the search warrant. After making a fuss, he was even ready to admit that you two did good work yesterday, so you can take part in the fun.”  
The twins grinned at each other and then said: „Already on the way.”

When the door to the main room of the Five-0 headquarters opened, Steve raised his head in his office and frowned. Since yesterday, he always had to think about the young agent. Her behavior in the villa had been completely professional, and that she felt uncomfortable because of the things Miller had said to her, was quite understandable. Even more experienced agents wouldn’t have reacted differently.  
Actually, he was the one who had to reproach himself for yesterday. He had reacted completely over the top after the deployment. Simply because he had been a bit disappointed about the outcome and they had not had anything against Miller. But that had changed overnight. The bugs put by Keanu had given them enough reasons for a warrant. The latter now lay before him on the desk, waiting for its enforcement. He watched through the windows of his office, revealing the view of the main room, as his team greeted the twins, who had already appeared in a full set-up with a bulletproof vest and weapons in the leg holster.  
He frowned astonished. Up to now, he had always believed that the vests of Federal Agents always proclaimed in oversized letter to which agency they belonged, but from the vests of the Shaws one couldn’t recognize from a distance that they were NCIS. The vests were actually similar to those his team would wear in a few minutes. In the front middle they had only an approximately four by ten centimeter patch, which was attached with Velcro. On this was the name of the respective twin and beside it an image of their badge with the lettering NCIS. Steve recognized all this as he watched the others. However, he also noted that the combination of tight, dark blue jeans with the bordeaux-red shirt with the ¾ long sleeves and the half-high boots of the young agent was more than good. The long hair had she bound to a firm ponytail, and just as Steve came to them, she checked her weapon again and stowed it in its holster.  
“Good morning, Commander,” she said, trying to keep her emotions in a tight rein. Even though she had actually convinced herself last night that she was trying to meet Steve on a purely professional basis, his appearance made her feel a little shaky as her pulse accelerated and she began to think about the talk to her brother from the evening before.  
“Good morning, Agent Shaw, Keanu.” He nodded to the siblings, then looked at his team. “Are they informed?”  
Danny shook his head. “No, I wanted them to listen to it here. I think that's better.”  
Steve nodded and then told Kono to play the recording.  
_“The little one was really sharp ... Jennifer's death is regrettable, of course, but just because I have not managed to lay her flat... She just lingered too long ... Yes, no problem. The collection arrives tomorrow morning. Of course, I have not entrusted my favorite piece to anyone else. I'm not stupid. But it was a whole lot of work to get it past customs ... I think I'll be staying in Hawaii the next time. If all the women here are as hot as Edwards’ assistant, then this can only be a great time and he can tell me what he wants about the relationship to be purely professional. I don’t think so. But that can only benefit me, if he does not want to cooperate with me anyway ... Of course, I'll get Miss Walters! She should not believe that she can escape me forever ...”_  
Apparently, the recording came from a phone call that Miller had had last night, so they only heard his side of the conversation. But what he said was enough for Leilani to feel the desire to break Miller every single bone.  
“Please, may I be the one who puts the handcuffs on him and naturally really nice tight?” She asked in a seething voice.  
Keanu put his sister a hand on the arm and tried to calm her. But he could fully understand her feelings and also that Five-0 had received a search warrant because of this record. “So, how are we doing this?” He looked questioningly around.  
“The best thing to do this will be driving with three cars, two people per car, and search the property until we find something,” Danny suggested, then turned to his colleague. “Lori, you have to stay here because of your foot and supervise the whole thing.”  
The blonde investigator agreed. She had already thought that her participation in the operation would be rather unlikely.  
“Okay, then lets saddle the horses,” Keanu said with a grin, and the six left the headquarters.  
Lori looked thoughtfully after them. Something in her told her that this assignment would not end well. “Just take care of you,” she whispered worried.

Steve stopped the Camaro in front of the wrought-iron gate of the villa at Diamond Head and showed the guard his badge, and he immediately responded by letting the three cars pass. They parked the cars in front of the large staircase and went out at the same time. For a moment, Keanu wondered if such an array of firepower would really be necessary, because after all, it was just a matter of looking around the villa a bit. But if he knew one thing, it was always better to be safe than sorry.  
Steve and Leilani walked up to the front door and knocked loudly. The dark-haired agent looked at Chin and Kono and shook his head amused: two alphas in action.  
After a few moments, the door was opened by a woman in her mid-forties, who shrank back from the sight of six armed persons.  
“Good morning, Ma'am, Five-0 and NCIS. We're here with a search warrant and would like to speak to Mr. Miller,” Steve introduced himself and the others with a friendly smile.  
The woman, apparently a domestic employee, gestured with a trembling hand to the staircase leading up to the upper floor. Leilani gave her brother a questioning look, which he answered with a nod. “I'll start down here.”  
“We too,” Chin and Kono said.  
“Then I will accompany the two madmen upstairs.”  
“Madmen?” Steve asked his partner and raised an eyebrow.  
“Well, whoever fits the shoe, so it must be true,” Danny grinned, heading for the stairs.  
Leilani just shrugged and followed the blond cop upstairs.

Neither in the bedroom nor in the adjoining study or bathroom had they discovered a trace of Miller, but all the time sounded loud music through the floor. After searching through three rooms, the investigators followed the sound of the music. Steve pushed the remaining door open, finding themselves in a room, apparently designed as a bedroom, but furnished by the current owner as a training room. Miller was doing some exercises that Steve recognized as part of the traditional Japanese sword fight. Through the loud music and because Miller stood with his back to the door, their entrance had initially remained unnoticed.  
As Steve and Leilani went into the room, Danny walked to the music system and turned it off. As a result of the lack of sound, Miller turned around and raised an eyebrow as he saw the two investigators standing in front of him.  
“Well, that's not what I expected when we meet again, and I do not think Edwards and Walters are your real names.” The astonishment was clear in his voice.  
“Shaw from NCIS and McGarrett and Williams from Five-0,” Leilani introduced herself and the two men. “We are here because we want to interview you about the murders of Jennifer McKegan and Margaret Wolfe. We also have a warrant that allows us to search your current place of residence for potential crime weapons.”  
Steve handed Miller the letter, so he could convince himself of the legality of the search.  
“Well, I do not know what made you to suspect me, but I assure you that I’m not to blame for anyone's death,” he said in a condescending tone.  
“Well, that's going to come to light,” Danny said, looking around the room. “So far I see here alone several things, which are great to pulverize someone's head.”  
“Really first-class word choice, Danno,” Steve said mockingly, but had to agree with his partner. Because with a _Bokutō_ , a training sword of the _Kendō_ , the Japanese sword fight, which consisted of hardwood, it was quite possible to actually hurt someone. “As my partner has just mentioned, there are several objects that can be identified as weapons in this room, and we know that you are also a registered collector of quality swords. We've also learned that your collection is due to arrive on O'ahu today. Of course, down to your favorite sword, which you have brought with great effort through the customs. So, Mr. Miller, we'd like to see your collection.”  
Miller looked at the three investigators, the look in his dark eyes getting more and more closed. “Of course. Here, please.” He waved his hand.  
Steve meant Leilani to join Miller, who walked over to a in the wall recessed cupboard. Meanwhile the two men looked around.

“You know, Agent Shaw, you delivered a really convincing performance yesterday.” Miller tried to involve the young agent in a conversation, presumably with the intention of getting her out of the concept.  
“That's part of the job and now hurry, please,” she urged impatiently, seeing through his plan.  
Miller opened the cupboard and pointed to the weapons inside.  
“Are this all?” She asked.  
He nodded.  
What happened after that occurred so fast that nobody could be blamed for it, even if Steve and Danny reproached themselves.  
In a tiny, unobserved moment and faster than anyone could react, Miller had pulled one of the swords and attacked Leilani with it. She could escape the first blow, but the second surprised her so much that she could not escape. With a loud scream and pain-distorted face, she went to the ground.

The blood slowly leaked from the body of the young woman and gathered in a small pool, which stood out very clearly from the bright ground on which she was lying. A cold smile played around the lips of the man, who did nothing more than stand beside her and look down at her. Still holding the sword in his hand, he raised his head and looked almost calmly at the other two men, who were looking at him with drawn pistols.  
“Miller, immediately lower your weapon!” Steve shouted at him. “You have no chance!” His eyes glanced anxiously at Leilani, who was lying on the ground and under which the blood spread rapidly. He knew a Katana, if properly maintained, was incredibly sharp. The young agent’s injury could be quite life-threatening if they did not do something in the next minutes.  
“Miller, I'll say it one last time: Down with the weapon!” Steve commanded again, directing the barrel of his pistol directly to the chest of his opponent. Slowly, the blond lowered the sword, still the cruel grin on his face. Steve meant Danny with a bumpy head nod to take the man. While his partner tore the sword out of Miller’s hand and threw it aside, Steve kept his eye on him all the time, but also glancing at Leilani. She did not move, still lay there. Steve noticed that his stomach was contracting uncomfortable, as if someone had emptied a bucket of ice-water in it. The amount of blood that Leilani had lost so far could already become dangerous and he wanted nothing more than for his partner to hurry with the arrest so he could finally take care of the young woman. The procedure seemed to be as if in slow motion, so it seemed to him at least. He did not know where the wish came from, but that was not important. All he knew was that he could not lose her under any circumstances.  
“Steve, I got him,” came Danny's redeeming words.  
“Take him off, Danno, and send me Keanu,” he pointed out, taking the pistol away, and leapt to Leilani. “And fucking call an ambulance!”  
“Steve,” Lori's voice came out of the InEar, “I've already done that, and Keanu should rush in right now.”  
As soon as Lori had said that, the male Shaw appeared. He made a hurried impression, threw a hateful look at Miller when he spotted him, but then concentrated quickly on his sister.  
“Lei, hey what are you doing?” He tried to sound funny, but he did not quite get it while kneeling beside her. Leilani forced a faint smile and groaned tense as Steve pushed her hand aside to exert pressure on the wound. “Sorry, but that has to be. We must somehow slow the bleeding,” he apologized and pressed on the wound.  
“I know,” she panted. The color faded from her face, her lips were already quite pale. “But a warning would have been nice,” she added, adding a little humor to the miserable attempt.  
The two men exchanged a quick glance. Keanu had a narrow, cheerless grin on his lips. He knew that fit to his sister: make jokes, though she was bleeding on the ground and waiting for the paramedics. Leilani escaped a croaking sound, and then, as if the last bit of her strength had been removed, her eyelids flickered.  
Keanu could feel the panic unstoppable raising in him. It was seated in his chest, bridging his neck.  
“Lei?” He said worried. “Leilani!” He tried more energetically. “No, you will not do that to me! Stay with me!”

 


	11. Recovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mhm, apparently the end of the last chapter was not as shocking as I thought. So, maybe I have to try harder in the next story.

The bleeping was the first sound she heard. It was constant and really annoying. But before she could say that someone should do something against it, she fell back into a dreamless sleep.

The next time she woke up, she heard, in addition to the bleeping, two male voices that seemed to be discussing something.  
“Come on, man, you've been here for hours. Go home and get some sleep.”  
“No, I want to be here when she wakes up.” The voice sounded tired and desperate at the same time.  
“You've heard the Doc, it can take hours, and you, my friend, you really need some sleep.”  
She heard a chair being pushed over the floor and then someone moved out of the room. Shortly after that, her hand was gripped and slightly pressed.  
“I do not know if you hear me, Leilani, but please, do me the favor and wake up. I really can’t stand it any longer with two concerned ex-Military. I understand fully that your brother is worried about you. As for Steve, well, our Ninja-SEAL has never been particularly good at admitting his feelings. But if you don’t wake up soon, I have to go to a station here because I've lost than completely my mind.” Unlike the first person, this one sounded a little more awake, but she could also hear a bit of exhaustion and care.  
She wanted to laugh but could not. Instead, she tried to make it clear to the person, in the voice she had recognized Danny, that she had understood him in returning the squeeze of his hand. She tried, at least, but whatever had happened to her, or whatever they had done with her, she could not. Maybe a new nap would make her feel better. So she gave up on the urge to sleep, which she rolled over again, was anyway easier than trying to open her eyes.

The only source of light came from a small lamp on the side table, barely able to illuminate the large room on the ground floor of the house on the edge of Honolulu. On the brown leather couch, which had several years behind it, sat a man resting his arms on his knees. Since two days he had this picture in mind. The image of a young woman with brown hair, with a painful face on the floor, her hand still pressed to the wound on her leg. He reproached himself since two days, wondering whether he could have done anything to prevent the young agent’s injury. His head told him that he could have done nothing, really absolutely nothing. But his heart did not want to hear it. It almost broke with the thought of what else might have happened to her. That she was now in the hospital was his fault. He should have reacted more quickly, had to secure her, and make sure that nothing happened to her. He was grateful that her brother did not blame him, because he already had enough to fight with his own bad conscience. Everyone told him again and again that he couldn’t have done anything, but he himself, he could not convince himself. The last 48 hours consisted of many _ifs_ and _whethers_ and _maybes_ and nothing, absolutely nothing could lift his spirits. If only she would finally wake up so that he could apologize to her. But until then he would sit here, waiting and hoping.  
The ringing of his phone ripped him from his thoughts.  
“McGarrett?” He responded tiredly.  
“Steve, here is Danny. She woke up.”

When she regained consciousness this time, she could open her eyes, but only with much effort, but she managed. She turned her head cautiously and smirked when she saw her brother who had apparently fallen asleep in the chair next to her bed because his head had sunk on his chest. Through the half-closed blinds in front of the windows, weak light shone into the room. However, she could not tell if it was the rising or setting sun.  
“Hey Kea,” she still felt weak and the two words came only hoarse over her lips, yet her voice aroused her brother, presumably he had not slept very deeply. He jerked up, wiped his eyes, and when he saw that Leilani was awake, he breathed a sigh of relief, then leaned over and brushed a tousled strand from her face.  
“Hey lil’, nice to have you back.”  
“What happened?” She asked, her voice still weak, but only got a headshake.  
“I don’t know exactly. I didn’t come in until it was all over. I'm going to get the Doc; he can tell you more about what's going on.” He stood up, then bent over her and gave her a light kiss on the forehead. “I'm glad you're fine,” he added.  
“How glad?” She muttered.  
„Super-piggy-wallow-happy,” he said with a gentle laugh. This had always been the answer to this question between them since they had been children.  
In front of his sister's room, Keanu stopped short, leaned against the wall, and allowed himself a relieved sigh. The last 54 hours had been the horror. The uncertainty about what was with Leilani had worried them all immensely. Then he took out his cell and called Danny to tell him the good news before he went to look for Leilani's doctor.

“Good Morning. As I heard, the patient finally woke up?” A good-humored male voice asked. Leilani raised her head and looked at the newcomer with an apprehensive look. A young man had entered the room. His face was adorned with a red-brown beard that made him seem a little older than he really was. His hair was the same bright color. However, unlike most redheads, his skin was darker. Face, neck and hands showed a healthy suntan which you could not avoid in Hawaii, unless you were an absolute nights person and did not go out of the door during the day.  
“I am Nial Cunningham, your physician. Can you tell me if you can remember how it came to your injury?” He asked her kindly but in a professional way.  
Leilani sat ponderous in her bed up, frowning.  
“We, means my brother, me and Five-0, we were with a suspect. But what happened then, it's all kind of ... blurry.”  
Doctor Cunningham nodded slowly, then checked something on her medical record.  
“This is perfectly understandable given the circumstances. You were hurt by a Katana at the leg and have lost a lot of blood. In the case of high blood loss, small amnesia sometimes occurs shortly before and after the event, as a result of which the minutes before the injury can’t be completely anchored in our memory. But you were lucky. The paramedics have indicated that if both your brother and Commander McGarrett were not adept in emergency medicine because of their active duty, the blood loss could have been very dangerous. But so,” he shrugged, then grinned, “you can probably leave us in a few days.”  
“What is really good,” was a voice from the room door to be heard, „because my dear sister is absolutely not on hospitals.”  
“As if you were so much better, Kea. While your dislike is utterly incomprehensible, mine is due to bad experiences.”  
“Oh, yes?” The doctor asked.  
“I only say field hospital and Afghanistan”, she yawned.  
Doctor Cunningham shook his head. “Okay, with that I can’t serve. I’m inexperienced in this case”, he admitted without embarrassment. Leilani smiled, then yawned again. “As for your tiredness, Agent Shaw, that's going to go away. It's only due to blood loss and anesthesia.”  
“Anesthesia? Why that?” The dark-haired looked at her doctor questioningly.  
“Well, we had to check if there were not any vessels or muscles injured and could not risk you coming back to consciousness during the examination.”  
Keanu came to his sister's bed and reached for her hand.  
“But you said the injury was not bad?” Keanu looked worried at the doctor.  
“Right. As I said, a few days we want to keep you here for observation, then you can go home. However, only if you promise to keep the leg steady. In a week you can hobble again, but only supported by crutches. You should avoid contact with salt water for another two weeks, as well as any sport,” he continued.  
“What?” Leilani looked so horrified that the two men began to laugh.  
“Oh, a sports fanatics,” said Doctor Cunningham, smirking. “So if you want the injury to heal without problems, then you should follow to my advice.”  
“I'll make sure she does,” Keanu said earnestly.  
A knocking at the door interrupted the three in their conversation.  
“Hey, I heard someone awoke here?” A female voice sounded from the other side of the room. In the door stood Chin and Kono, who looked questioningly into the round. Doctor Cunningham took a step aside and unblocked the view of the in the bed-sitting Leilani. When she saw the two members of Five-0 standing in the door, she raised her arm and waved smiling.  
“Aloha you two,” she greeted tiredly.  
After the two Hawaiians had entered, Dr. Cunningham said goodbye, but stopped in the passage again.  
“Oh, I know from my colleagues that especially Five-0 tends to revert to the hospital's diet plans. I just wanted to let you know that in the case of Agent Shaw, there's nothing wrong with it.”  
With a last smile around, he finally went out and somehow he already regretted the day when Leilani Shaw would be released.

Armed with a bag from Kamekona’s Shrimp Truck, Danny walked through the floors to Leilani's room. As he turned into the corridor, where it was, he remained puzzled. Outside the door stood his friend and partner, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his beige cargo pants and his face pensive.  
“Well, Steven, can’t you decide whether to enter?” Were his first words instead of a greeting.  
The black-haired twitched and turned around. “Oh, hello Danny. What are you doing here?”  
“Don’t just try it, Steve. You know exactly what I'm doing here. Just as I know what you're doing here, even if you don’t want to admit it. So, are you coming in now?” He pointed to the room door and gave him a mocking grin as he entered. “Leilani, Leilani, what are you just doing?” He greeted her reprovingly.  
The young agent looked up from her book and smiled.  
“You asked me that in the last week every day when you came by, Danny. Think about something new and show what Kamekona has packed this time.”  
Danny opened the bag and peered inside.  
“Here we would have Shrimpjambalaya, garlic shrimps and shrimps in lemon dough.”  
Leilani wrinkled her nose.  
“The big one should finally realize that there is only one person who eats the Jambalaya and that is certainly not me!” She cried a little piqued.  
Steve laughed and drew Leilani's attention to himself.  
“Oh, hello Steve.” She straightened up a little more and ran over her hair. “I didn’t expect you here,” she confessed embarrassed.  
“Oh, you know,” Danny said, pulling up a chair, “the good Steven was just be standing around for ages in front of your room, and apparently hadn’t longer knew how to open a door.”  
“Danny,” the black-haired hissed at him, but the blond had decided to ignore him and turned his attention to the young agent.  
“When are you allowed to leave these cozy halls?” He asked.  
Leilani put her book aside and then fished for the bag with the food.  
“Actually, I'm just waiting for Doc Cunningham and his final investigation. I hope I'll be back home tonight.”  
“Won’t you have problems because of your leg?” Steve asked, honestly interested. He still had the floor plan of the house in his head and therefore knew that the staircase to the upper floor was quite angled.  
“Well.” Leilani wondered briefly why Steve was so kind to her, but then she remembered that Danny, as well as the rest of Five-0 and Keanu had told her that the ex-SEAL had reproached himself bitterly for what had happened to her. So she put his sudden interest on her simply down to this circumstance. “My room is on the ground floor and I have a toilet there if necessary. If I have to go to the bathroom, I'll probably just appoint my little brother to my slave,” she joked.  
Danny and Steve laughed, and the three fell upon the dishes, which Kamekona had packed, but left the Jambalaya untouched. To be honest, however bad the food in hospitals may be, none of them dared to risk his stomach with the Jambalaya.  
They were still in the middle of the meal as a friendly sounding voice announced: “I'm probably disturbing a little party.”  
Leilani looked up and when she saw who was standing there, she waved her chopsticks to the door. “Hey Doc, come in. You don’t disturb at all.”  
With reluctance Steve noticed that Leilani's smile had changed with the doctor's appearance. He didn’t like this change at all, even it made her eyes sparkle and Steve was not sure, but it seemed as if she was blushing slightly. He found that it suited her, but that the young doctor seemed to be the reason for this behavior, went him against the grain.  
“I'm just here to oversee the healing process of your wound,” said Dr. Cunningham, probably still thinking that he was disturbing this illustrious round by their lunch.  
Leilani smiled and swiped the sheet aside. Because she was wearing only shorts, her thigh was good to see, as was the ten-centimeter-long suture. The brunette grimaced at the sight.  
“That looks so terrible,” she grumbled sheepishly.  
Doctor Cunningham raised his head and smiled at her, encouraging.  
“Don’t worry, Agent Shaw. If you adhere to my prescriptions, then probably only a slim scar will remain.” He briefly examined the wound, touched her slightly at the knee, then winked. “I'll get your papers ready and then you can leave us whenever you want. Oh, is that the Shrimpjambalaya from Kamekona’s?” His gaze had fallen on the bag and the dish that was in it, still been scorned by all of them.  
The three investigators laughed, even if Leilani found that Steve sounded quite forced and she asked herself for the reason. Danny pointed to the bag.  
“Help yourself, Doc! We are tough, but we don’t have a steel stomach at all.”  
Gratefully, the redhead grasped the small cardboard box and left the room, still smiling. “Great,  
my dinner is secured.”  
Danny smirked and then looked at Leilani, who had turned back to the shrimp in dough pantry. “Is he always like that?” Danny suddenly asked.  
“Who? Doc Cunningham? Oh yes, though, I think he is not much older than me, but he already has his specialist and everything,” she said incidentally.  
Danny nodded and then glanced from the corner of his eye to Steve, who had become suspiciously quiet in the last few minutes. His eyes were fixed on the uncovered leg of the brunette. Danny grimaced. He knew it! Even if Steve would vehemently deny it, the blond was aware of one thing: Through the undercover mission, Steve's opinion had changed fundamentally. But as Danny estimated the two dark-haired, none of them would make the first step. Steve not because he still clung to the relationship with Catherine, although everyone else was aware that it would lead to nothing, and Leilani because she was simply the sort of person who closed her own heart rather than making advances on someone who was in a relationship.  
“Does your brother know that there is the possibility that you can get home today?” the blond tried to get the conversation back to work. Leilani nodded, munched, then swallowed the bite.  
“He will come after work and collects me. Speaking of work, did Miller actually say anything?” She inquired.  
The two investigators shook their heads.  
“He is aware of the fact that he is charged for an attack on a Federal Agent, but he says nothing about the murder of Jennifer McKegan. He admitted, however, that he had had a sexual interest in her, but she didn’t react on his advances,” Danny said.  
“Doesn’t this sound like a reason for an act of jealousy for you?”  
“Theoretically yes,” Steve admitted, then shrugged, “but regrettably he has a watertight alibi at least for the time of the murder of Mrs. Wolfe.”  
“How watertight?” Leilani asked interested. In the past few days she hadn’t received any information about the state of the investigation and was therefore glad that the two men of Five-0 now gave her so willingly information.  
“As watertight as a business dinner with 30 people who posted about it in the social networks can be.” Steve looked at her apologetically. This fact, too, had nagged him when he had heard about it two days ago.  
Leilani cursed softly. “Miller was such a good suspect.”  
“But unfortunately an innocent,” Danny said regretfully.  
“Yes, innocent about the murder, but because of the bastard I get the next scar,” said the agent slightly acidified.  
“Scars do not prove weakness; only that no one will break us.”  
Danny and Leilani gave Steve a dubious look, then they gazed at each other and started laughing.  
“Oh, Steve McGarrett the hobby philosopher. But he is right, Leilani, because if that would not be the case, I would have thrown in the towel on the first day with our SEAL. After all, only a few hours after I got to know him, he managed to get me shot and thrown through a window.”  
“What?” The brunette’s eyes scurried between the two men.  
“Oh, yes,” said the blond, gazing with relish that Steve's face was full of discomfort. “But that was not all. On the same day, he also made sure we jumped with a car on the deck of a Chinese freighter.”  
“What?” Repeated Leilani, sinking into the pillows, laughing. “That surpasses all I've ever done.”  
“And that would be?” Steve leaned forward with interest, but the young woman waved off.  
“Unfortunately we do not know each other well enough yet, Steve. Should I reveal it at some point; I would regrettably have to kill you.”  
He took a deep breath and tried to make a harsh reply, but then he noticed her smirk and the sparkle in her eyes.  
“You're really bad, Leilani. Did someone ever tell you that?” He asked, also amused. Although she had been the reason for his ongoing anger a fortnight ago, he found her company now somehow amusing.  
“You have no idea and yes, I've been told that more often,” she replied cheekily.  
Danny glanced around the two of them, wondering what the hell he had missed. This change of mood between the two made him afraid in a certain way. If they were going for each other’s throats a week ago and were only willing to cooperate under duress, they almost seemed now to be a heart and a soul. A look at the clock told him, however, that he had to leave. After all, it was one of the rare weekends when he would have his daughter with him, beginning with the end of the school day. So he got up and gave the young agent a smile.  
“Leilani, do not drive your brother into madness and stick to what the Doc has told you, even if it will probably be difficult for you.”  
“You're already going?” She asked, disappointed.  
Danny nodded. “Yes, I won’t miss a minute with my princess.”  
“Oh,” Leilani said understandingly, “you have Grace this weekend with you?” The blond investigator had told her about his little daughter at their barbecue evening and how feverishly he looked forward to the rare moments with her. “Then I will not stop you, of course. Have fun with the little one,” she told him even before he nodded her farewell and then left the room.  
Steve stayed another few minutes, but without his partner it was as if he had swallowed his tongue. All that he wanted to say seemed to him so little meaningful. But Leilani too had no idea how she should behave and so she was more than happy when it knocked briefly and Dr. Cunningham came in again.  
“I just wanted to bring you your papers, Agent Shaw, and since you are no longer my patient, my mobile number is on the last page. Call me, I'd like to know everything how it had been, at the field hospital in Afghanistan.”  
Steve, who actually wanted to take the doctor's entrance as apology to leave, stood as if rooted in the doorway and could not help throwing a shocked look the agent. As she lifted her gaze from the dismissal form and looked at him, he murmured only a quick “Take care, Leilani” and disappeared.

~.~

A week after Leilani had been released from the hospital she sat in Keanu’s Shelby's passenger seat, waiting for her brother to help her to get out. Actually, she needed the crutches only conditionally and could she have decided, then she had already put them in the corner, but she did not decide and so she still limped around and was glad that her little brother helped her out from time to time. At that moment, the door opened and Keanu beamed at her.  
“And ready to face the madness?” He asked challengingly.  
They had parked the car in front of their aunt's house in Aina Haina, who celebrated her 50th birthday on that day. She was their mothers youngest sister and had, along with her husband, also decided to move from Lāna'i to O'ahu years ago.  
Keanu took the gift out of the trunk and together the siblings went to the front door. Just a few moments after they had rung, the door was torn open.  
“There are the two faithless souls. Now you do live on the same island and the first thing I hear from you after we've got you your beautiful house in Kailua is that my dear niece has once again been brought to the hospital. Let me have a look, Keiki.” Her aunt looked at Leilani carefully, then shook her head. “How can one be so pretty and at the same time so imprudent? Oh, Keiki, you will someday be your own death with your temper.”  
“Auntie,” Leilani wanted to interrupt, but the older one waved her off.  
“Oh, not so important. What now important is, is that you come in and be provided with coffee and cake. We even have Malasadas,” she announced pleased.  
“Really?” Keanu rejoiced, and began to beam. The sweet, stuffed, and fried yeast dough balls were one of the things he'd really missed on the mainland, even though some bakeries tried to make them, they simply did not taste like in Hawaii. “Congratulations, Auntie,” he said quickly, then pushed past the two women into the house.  
“Tss, tss. Your brother has not really changed,” noticed her aunt with a wink.  
“And probably he will never.” Leilani leaned on a crutch and took her aunt in the arm. “I wish you a happy birthday, Auntie. I hope you like our gift, even if Kea just took it with him.”  
Her aunt laughed and accompanied Leilani inside.

“Look who I have here.” Her aunt had laid an arm around her shoulder and had walked beside her in the not very large living room, where there were certainly two dozen people who interrupted their conversations and looked together at them. When they saw Leilani, they rushed toward her to embrace her. Leilani grinned and almost forgot her bad mood, which she had been carrying around for a few days. She knew that both her brother and Doc Cunningham were quite right to forbid her any sport until the wound had properly healed and the sutures had been removed, but she felt so unoccupied. She lacked her daily sports program and that affected her mood.  
But here, surrounded by her cousins, grand cousins and aunts, whom she had not seen for some years, she felt, at least for the moment, as if everything were in order.  
Because her family knew about her injury and that could really not be overlooked, they gave her a place on the sofa, and immediately her aunt sent one of her daughters to the adjacent kitchen to organize some coffee and cake for the young woman.  
“So, darling, tell me. What's new in your life? Have you met an interesting young man? As laudable I find your profession, I am the opinion that such a handsome thing as you should not be left alone,” she pursued a bit.  
“Aunt!” Leilani groaned and was glad to be able to hide behind her cup, which was given to her at that moment.  
“My dear sister is only shy,” a voice came from the door leading to the garden, in which traditionally the male kinship subsided. “She even has two admirers.”  
“Keanu!” The brunette hissed, giving her brother an evil look. “That's not right,” she said vehemently.  
“Oh, no?” He pushed himself away from the doorway and stepped into the room, the attention which was given him fully enjoying. “So didn’t a handsome, young doctor give you his mobile number at your release, with the words you were no longer his patient?”  
“A doctor? Oh, Leilani, that would be wonderful,” interrupted her aunts mother-in-law, who was already over 80 and was still the opinion that all the female members of her family, whether related by marriage or not, had to be put under the hood before her end will come. So she looked curiously at Keanu now. “You mentioned two cavaliers. Who is the second?”  
“That would be Steve McGarrett.”  
“The leader of Five-0? Oh, I've seen a photo in the newspaper. Such a strapping young man and one of the Navy. That would certainly please your father. After all, he has also served,” the old woman enthused, which was not only embarrassing for her daughter-in-law.  
“I'll kill you!” Leilani hissed in the direction of her brother, who only grinned at her, loving to embarrass his sister. In the hope of being able to have a payback on him, and also to distract attention from her, she smiled sardonically, then said, “Keanu had recently a date, and since he remained silent about it, it was either full of disgrace or it went really well.”  
“Really? Then come here, my boy, tell me.”  
Keanu gave his sister a dark look, which she answered only with a stuck out tongue. Then he followed the old woman's request and began to tell about his date. If Leilani had not been distracted by the arrival of the eldest daughter of the celebrant, who had begun a conversation with her, she might have noticed that her brother avoided telling a name, even if he was completely enthusiastic about the young woman. So enthusiastic, that all the women in the room began to think about possible table decorations and guest lists.

The afternoon had already turned into evening, and Leilani had withdrawn into the little garden. She was sitting on the garden swing and looking into the darker sky. There were already a few stars to be seen and she enjoyed the peace a little. Even though she really loved her family, it was just too full and too loud in the house.  
“What’s the moping, sis?”  
Keanu dropped on the swing next to her and pushed off from the ground, so they began to swing back and forth slightly.  
“I don’t know. On the one hand, I should be glad to live in Hawaii again and disregarding our current case, the work here promises to be a lot less stressful than in the headquarters or any other outpost. And the cooperation with Five-0 has proved to be less bad than feared. And, if all is well, then why am I so irritated?” She lowered sadly her head and the dark-haired looked thoughtfully at his sister.  
“I don’t know. Is it perhaps because of what I said earlier? That about the two admirers?”  
She shrugged. “No, yes, maybe. Oh, I don’t know. As for Doc Cunningham, you're right. He gave me his number, and not without reason. But I think concerning McGarrett, you're totally off beam,” she said firmly.  
“I don’t think so,” Keanu said, but she gave an incredulous sound. “Listen, Lei, when you were in the hospital and did not wake up for days, he was just as worried and pondered as us others. I think he's on you, but he can’t really admit it.”  
“He has a girlfriend,” she interrupted her brother brusquely, but he replied with a wave of his hand.  
“Maybe, and I also know that you would never press yourself into a working relationship, but Steve is the same as you and me, a family man, while you hear about Lieutenant Rollins being a career woman. She would never break off her career in favor of children or a husband. She wants to reach something in the Navy and I think she could do so,” he said.  
“What is that supposed to help? Steve McGarrett would never break up with her, even if he knows all this. He simply does not want to hurt anyone who is close to him. So, let's forget the whole thing.”  
She did not want to talk to Keanu about her (not-present) love life, and decided to stop the conversation at this point and go back to the house when her brother’s voice stopped her.  
“You're afraid, right? Afraid that the same things happens to you as with Brandon. But you have to understand: Steve is not Brandon! Got it? He will never let you down! So don’t be so stubborn and try to read between the lines.”  
She turned around and glared at her brother. “You’re right, he's not like Brandon, and for that reason, he would never break up with his girlfriend just because the relationship is perhaps a bit complicated at the moment. It may be that he is not as arrogant and annoying as I first thought, but one will never accuse me of destroy one others relationship. For that reason, we will never talk about it again. Understood?” She snapped at him. Her words did not tolerate any contradiction.  
Keanu nodded slowly, his sister's outburst had frightened him. She went back to the house with a grin of cold satisfaction on her face. He remained sitting on the swing for a moment and thought. Leilani was partly so obstinate and stubborn and simply didn’t want to notice the obvious. Even if her view of not wanting to destroy a relationship was really laudable, it did not make her happy either. But that his sister was happy was for him the most important thing in the world. She should never be lonely and if his relationship with Florence continued well, his sister would soon live alone in the house in Kailua. Keanu sighed and then stood up. He would make sure that both his stubborn sister and the no less stubborn Steve would admit their true feelings. Once that had been done, nothing would stand in the in the way to his future with Florence.

 

Since her aunt's birthday were three days gone, and Leilani had been able to persuade her brother to take her to the office in the morning. At home, she felt hemmed in, and even if she would have to stay on desk duty, she wanted at least to have something to do. That's why she went through the various offices, different from the headquarters in Washington each team had their own room here, and collected the remained paperwork from their colleagues. These were more than grateful to her, for reports or paperwork in general nobody liked, so it often accumulated over weeks. So Leilani was now sitting in her office, running soft music in the background, shaking her head again and again over the lack of spelling of the other agents. But at least she had something to do.  
She'd been buried in her work the whole morning, when Keanu came to the office around noon with something to eat and a mood that was not particularly sunny. He had to deal with several sailors, who had been noticed during the weekend by inappropriate behavior under alcohol influence. While he was talking, she sat slouched back in her chair, staring at the wall.  
“What's the matter, Leilani? Is something with your leg?” He asked, worried after he'd noticed her absent expression.  
She shrank and then shook her head. “No, it isn't. But we must go to Five-0.”  
“What? Why?” He asked, confused.  
She pushed herself out of her chair and reached for the one crutch she really only used when it was absolutely necessary and the call she'd received a few minutes ago would ensure that she would not be able to sit calmly.

Throughout the drive to the Task Force headquarters’, Keanu tried to elicit from his sister why she wanted to meet with them voluntarily, and then also in their rooms, but Leilani remained silent and looked thoughtfully out of the window.  
The dark-haired agent entered the large main room before Leilani and then grinned.  
“Look who's here,” he announced.  
The Five-0 members turned their heads and on their faces appeared a joyous expression.  
“Leilani, hey.” Kono came to the young woman and hugged her. “How are you?”  
“I'm bored, annoyed, and just ... well, yeah, underworked. Hey Lori.” She smiled at the blonde investigator. “Looks like we've swapped roles.”  
In fact, Lori had been on her feet without any walking aid, while Leilani relied again and again on her crutch.  
“Seems so, but it's nice to see that nothing worse happened to you.”  
“I think so, too,” Danny said, pulling a chair on rollers, which he offered to Leilani. She nodded, smiling, then sat down.  
“Well, I think you guys are wondering why we're here,” she began.  
“Well, actually not really,” Steve said, placing his hands in his trouser pockets. “I guess you got the same call from your boss as we did.”  
Leilani nodded as Keanu looked questioningly into the round.  
“Can someone enlighten me? My dear sister has been silent as the grave about the reason for this little excursion.”  
“The governor called earlier and told us that if we do not get a decisive clue in the next few days, we have to put the case away as unsolved,” said Steve, his dislike over this circumstance was obvious.  
“Granger sounded similar when I spoke with him earlier. In his opinion, the NCIS on the island is already so small that it can’t afford to pay two agents for twiddle their thumbs,” Leilani replied.  
“What?” Keanu looked at his sister, shocked. “They don’t want us to be looking for a perpetrator who has already killed two women?”  
Leilani shrugged, and Steve's eyes darkened even more.  
“I don’t like it either, because that would be the first case that Five-0 could not solve, but both the governor and your boss are right. We either find a crucial clue or draw our attention in a different direction.”  
“That's so ...” Leilani jumped furiously from her seat and began trudging up and down the room with her crutch. “I hate stuff like that! It just can’t be true that this bastard gets away, just because the bosses think it takes too long to find him.”  
Keanu wanted to talk calmly to his sister, especially with regard to her injury, but a look into her eyes told him that she was in a whim in which she won’t even recoil form murder.  
“Leilani, calm down. I find the decision of our bosses not so great either, but sometimes it is just as it is.”  
Suddenly it was so quiet in the room that you could hear a pin drop. That Steve of all people would take the initiative to calm down the young woman; no one would have expected that. And neither that she would stand still and her answer would only consist of a simple “yes okay.”  
“Hey folks,” Steve looked around, “give us a minute?”  
His team nodded and walked out of the room. Keanu looked thoughtfully back and forth between his sister and Steve, but then, after Danny had assured him that they would surely notice when the two were going to jump on each other’s throats.  
After they were alone, Leilani looked at Steve questioningly. She had no idea what he really wanted.  
“Listen, Leilani, I know that the whole situation is not necessarily exhilarating. It is never easy to declare cases as unsolved, and when you run your own team, it becomes even harder to accept the facts. But the situation is clear. We don’t make any headway, have no suspects, no traces to follow, and even if Lori, Kono, and Chin have created a reasonable profile, it only helps us if we have someone whose behavior we can compare. That's not the instance.”  
She nodded slowly. She knew all this, even if it was difficult for her to accept it.  
“It's clear to me, Steve, but you could have ...” She hesitated when he was ready to take her not only with her first name, but also to use the more personal form, “You could also have told me that in the presence of the others.”  
“That's right.” He ran over his neck and then smiled uncertainly. “I wanted to apologize to you. If I'd been better, Miller would not have had the chance to grab the sword and hurt you.”  
She raised her hand to stop him from talking and smiled.  
“Steve, you're just as blameless as Danny. If someone is to blame, then me because I have not been careful. Besides, everything happened so fast that we should be glad that it did not get any worse. Yes, I was hurt. Yes, I soon have a new scar on my body. But just as little as my old partner was to be blamed for the fact that I landed with broken ribs in the hospital because of some bullets, just as little are you to blame for this injury. We know our job. We know that sometimes bad things happen and you simply can’t do anything about it. This is the risk that we as field investigators take voluntarily and that every day again. Be honest, would you want another job?” Without hesitation, Steve shook his head, which caused the young agent to grin. “Well,” she said, holding out her hand, “all well?”  
He took the hand and shook it.  
“All well,” he confirmed.

“I just don’t believe it.” Kono glanced through the glass door and watched her boss and Leilani, who spoke with one another completely civilized. “When did that happen? I mean, when did the two realize that it's not going well to shout constantly at each other?”  
Chin grinned and laid a hand on his cousin’s shoulder. “You know, cuz, I think from his side it happened in the 48 hours when she was unconscious.”  
“Yes, but ...” Kono wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Lori: “Guys, I think there is something happening.”  
Together, they watched as both Steve and Leilani whipped out their mobiles, looked at the caller ID, and then grinned after they had shown it to each other. Steve waved his team that they could get back in and then started the conversation.  
“Charlie, what's up?”  
“Actually, I wanted to make a conference with the Shaws, but I do not reach anyone. Perhaps I should try again later.” Charlie's voice sounded excited and Steve knew it could mean that the young man had discovered something important.  
“Won’t be necessary,” Leilani said, and since Steve had now his phone on speaker, Fong could hear her, too.  
“Oh, aloha Agent Shaw, I did not know you're at Five-0.”  
“No problem, Fong. So, what's new?”  
They heard how at the other end of the line was deeply breathed in. “We finally figured out what sort of remedy was used to stun both Mrs. Wolfe and Miss McKegan. It is probably a medium length effective muscle relaxant. Which one exactly we have yet to find out.”  
“What exactly does a relaxant do?” Danny asked.  
“Well, I could go far and complicated now, but in simple terms, a relaxant causes all the muscles to be rigid, but you're still conscious. And since this anesthetic affects all the muscles, you are no longer able to breathe independently.”  
“Wait.” Kono leaned closer to the cell, which Steve had laid on the table, her eyes disbelieving. “You just said that one is motionless, but fully conscious. Do you want to say that the two women noticed how they were stabbed?”  
“Exactly that,” Charlie replied. “Whoever the perpetrator is, I think he derives pleasure from seeing how the knowledge of what is coming appears in the victims’ eyes. Of course, I'm not a specialist for something like that.”  
“No,” Lori replied, “that could be quite true. Our perpetrator is not only methodical, but sadistic, too, to stun the victims, so they can’t fight, but still realize what happens next, that suits this sort of perpetrator.”  
“So as I said, we still have to find out which relaxant it is exactly, but since the access to these resources is limited, at least that could help.”  
“Thanks Charlie,” Steve said, then hung up. A look at the round told him that everyone was equally shocked at this news. Then he fixed Leilani’s eyes. “I think we both have to make a phone call to our bosses.”  
She nodded in agreement and Steve went to his office. At his door he turned around again. “Chin, try to find out who has access to relaxants. Lori, please update the profile. When you are finished, send the info to Keanu and Leilani. I think we will find this guy only if we really work together.”  
Only when the door had closed behind him Danny did dare to move again.  
“Has our Super-SEAL just admitted that his behavior had been kind of wrong?” His question almost sounded disbelieving.  
“Seems so,” Chin smirked, then looked at the twins. Keanu only grinned grimly, while Leilani had set up a mask of impenetrability, but then came motion in the young agent.  
“Since that is now made clear, Kea, you have to drive me to the Doc and I must urgently speak with Granger. So guys, see you later.”  
With this she turned and disappeared from the headquarters.  
“Sometimes she is just not to be restrained,” Keanu said with a shrug, then hurried after a quick farewell after his sister.

Kono looked into the round and put her fists on the hips. “So what do you think of the whole thing?”  
“What do you mean? The fact that Steve and Leilani were like civilized people? That our perpetrator is more psychopathic than we thought? Or that it is no longer to be overlooked that Leilani and Steve somehow fancy each other?” Lori asked teasingly.  
“All of it,” Danny replied in Kono's place, causing the team to laugh before they get back to work.

 

 


	12. The Island’s a real small place

A week had passed since their last official meeting.  
Because of the tox test results they had bought a little time from their respective superiors, the Governor of the State of Hawaii and NCIS Assistant Director Granger, but the two team leaders, Steve and Leilani, were fully aware of the fact that this reprieve would not last long. Unfortunately, they were now on the same spot as before Fong's call. There were no connections between Mrs. Wolfe and Miss McKegan, at least none they could find. For this reason, Leilani's mood deteriorated, causing her brother to have a longer conversation with Doc Cunningham, who certify for the young agent that she could start sporting again if she did not exaggerate. What she used directly, arranging to meet with Kono for the weekend. They went to the beach and while the young Hawaiian was bouncing back and forth in the waves, Leilani lay on her beach towel or stood up to her knees in the water, just enjoying the feeling of finally being out again. Of course she would be happy with her board on the water, but Leilani knew that this would not necessarily be pleasant and beneficial for the healing of her suture.  
Kono looked from the corner of her eyes at the young agent, which stood beside her in the water and let her gaze wander over the waves. Her turquoise bikini with the dark blue flowers stood out strongly from the tanned skin. For the first time, the young Hawaiian noticed the various scars, and especially the newest, which was on the thigh.  
Leilani slowly let her hands slip through the water, fully aware of the other woman's looks.  
“I know,” she suddenly interrupted the silence that had prevailed between them in the last few minutes, “that my body is some kind of battlefield.”  
Kono shrugged, but then smiled apologetically.  
“I was not aware that ...”  
“What? That you stared at me?” Leilani turned her head and grinned. “Don’t worry, I'm used to it, mostly people look like that when they first notice how many scars I really have. I mean, the upper arm can be hidden by t-shirts or sweaters and the majority is on parts, that you can only see when I’m wearing a bikini.”  
“Nevertheless, I can imagine that it is not particularly pleasant to be exposed to such glances,” Kono guessed.  
Leilani shrugged indifferent. “My partner from Navy times has it even worse. He has got into an IED of insurgents.” She said, unmoved. By now, she really did not mind. Earlier, shortly after the first injury and also the explosion in which she had lost her partner, it had been quite different. But now she just stood over things.  
“Did he survive?” Kono asked, shocked.  
“Yes, but he has lost a leg.” Leilani looked over the water and then grinned. “But the day is far too good to be saddened with such serious topics. I see a wave which has your name on it.”  
Kono laughed and ran into the sea. “Here goes!”

It was a few hours later when Kono picked up her board and then suddenly waved cheerfully. Leilani saw this from a little further away, as she had felt the desire to take a little walk, but could not see who the other had discovered. Because she slowly got hungry and wanted to invite the young Hawaiian, she made her way to her.

“Hello Steve.” She looked curiously at the young woman around whose shoulders Steve had laid an arm. This must be Catherine, Lieutenant of the US Navy and Steve's long-term girlfriend. Leilani smiled and then extended her hand to the other woman. “Hi, Leilani Shaw,” she introduced.  
“Catherine Rollins. So you are the newcomer in the NCIS office.”  
Leilani nodded. “Yes, along with my brother Keanu.”  
“And how is it to live in Hawaii?” Catherine asked with honest interest.  
“Well,” Leilani shrugged, “since we lived here until the age of 14, it was not too much of a cultural shock. Besides, the island has changed less than imagined.”  
Catherine nodded understandingly. But then her eyes wandered to the thighs of the brunette, where the new scar stand out brightly from the skin.  
“Yes, that's the place where I managed to walk into a sword,” said Leilani, fully aware of the looks and for some reason, she was more uncomfortable with Catherine’s than with Kono’s hours before. She wanted to say something, but then she was interrupted by a shout.  
“Leilani? Is that you?”  
The four turned to the voice and the young agent frowned thoughtfully, but then she began to laugh.  
“Mamo? Oh my God!” She ran toward the older man and fell around his neck. He locked her tightly in his arms and waved her slightly back and forth.  
“Keiki, why didn’t you say you were on the island? Is your got-for-nothing brother here as well?”  
She laughed again and ran over her hair. “Kea and I are living here again. We have been transferred to the NCIS office in Pearl together.”  
“Is not true?! And then you didn’t come to visit me? I'm disappointed.” He pulled his face, playfully insulted.  
“I'm really sorry, but somehow we have not managed to renew our old acquaintances at all. Many of them do not live here anymore, and on some point we just let it be,” she apologized to Mamo.  
“But you could have visited old Mamo at least once. After all, I am almost rooted on the beach,” he did not let loose.  
“That I can confirm,” Steve interrupted in the conversation. On the one hand he had to get over the news that Leilani was well known to Mamo, and on the other hand over the given sight of a round scar located close to the young agent’s lumbar spinal column. It had been a bullet, he immediately recognized, for he himself had such scars.  
If he had met Leilani with the knowledge he had now, he would never have doubted that she had ever been on active duty. If he had already known what he knew now ... He shook his head and tried to expel the creeping thoughts of which he knew that it would bring nothing.  
“Come on, Steve. This is an old hat.”  
“It’s not even a year ago that you did not want to be evacuated despite tsunami warning,” Steve told the elderly dryly.  
“What?” Leilani looked back and forth between them. “Tsunami warning? I didn’t know that one hit the Islands last year.”  
“It didn’t, because none came. What I have said to the good Stevie from the very beginning. But he wanted to trust the technology rather than my gut” complained the old man.  
“Hey, I apologized, didn’t I?” Steve complained with a slightly kinky expression.  
“Even more than that,” Mamo grinned. “So Keikis, I’m going again and Leilani, come by. You can also bring this kind good-for-nothing that you name your brother.” Mamo winked at her conspiratorially.  
“I do,” said the brunette with a smile and hugged Mamo again. “I was glad to see you again.”  
He said goodbye to the others and then walked along the beach. Kono looked after him and then pushed Leilani into the side, with a wide smirk on his face. “The island is really small, isn’t it?”  
“Why?” Leilani raised an eyebrow.  
“Well, you know Mamo, Steve knows Mamo. I can’t imagine that you did not run into each other that way.”  
Steve and Leilani exchanged a long, thoughtful look, which not only was caught by Catherine, but also made her suspicious. Inevitably, she wondered how the two of them really stood to each other. Steve had said little about the new NCIS team. She knew most about it from the gossip on the base and, of course, the Navy newsletter. She'd always been aware that her time with Steve was limited, and that was not just because the short vacations that she only had.  
Someday he would want to start a family and that was simply not for her. She did not want to imagine what it was like to be pregnant. Not to mention birth. Of course there were also mothers in the Navy, but not her. No way! If the day came when the desire for own children in Steve would take even more shape, then she would go. Even if Steve was not aware of this, but she would not change, never.  
“Hey,” Kono's voice snapped her out of her mind. “We wanted to eat something. Do you want to join us?”  
“Gladly,” Catherine said with a thoughtful look. After all, this would give her the opportunity to observe Leilani and Steve; perhaps this would give her some new insights.  
“Kamekona?” Steve asked, looking around. The three women nodded enthusiastically. After Kono and Leilani had thrown on shorts and top and slipped into the flipflops that were essential for Hawaii, they set off together to the shrimp truck.

 

The four sat at one of the tables in front of Kamekona's truck, waiting for their order to be ready.  
“Twice dough coat, once spicy and once garlic,” the voice of the owner sounded at this moment.  
Leilani stood up and said to the round. “I'm going.” With that she stepped to the open side panel of the truck and nodded friendly upwards. “Hi,” she greeted the owner.  
“And who are you, sister?” She was asked as her opposite raised an eyebrow.  
“Leilani Shaw. Two weeks ago you provided me with your shrimp deliveries in the hospital,” she answered his question.  
“Ah.” Kamekona's face was now a grin. “The homecomer,” he remembered.  
She laughed. “That sounds like I've been run away.”  
“Everyone who leaves the island is homeless, sister. That you've come back and appreciate the benefits of my food, just means your heart and you belong to Hawaii,” he told her deadly serious.  
“I always knew that,” said Leilani, handing the money for the four dishes over and taking them. “I was delighted, Kamekona.”  
“Me too, sister,” he said.  
She turned and went back to her table. There she put the tray with the food down and would have liked to have her eyes twisted when she realized that Steve, like her, had ordered the shrimp in the lemon dough. Again a point on her list, which he fulfilled. It would probably be time for her to acknowledge that her brother was right about Steve. But still she would not do anything in that direction. She looked at the dark-haired couple sitting opposite her. The two were absolutely happy and contend and she would be damned to change that.  
“Do you know, Steve, what I ask myself all the time, why Five-0?” Leilani leaned her arms on the wooden table and looked interested.  
Steve's mouth raised, and Kono beside her also began to giggle.  
“What's so funny about it? I just wanted to know how you came to the name Five-0 for your unit.” Leilani looked confused between the two laughers.  
“To be honest, I've been wondering about it too, Steve,” said Catherine, who had tasted the Jambalaya full of enjoyment.  
“It was one of our first cases. It was actually a war between the Samoans and the Mafia,” Steve began with his explanation. “They thought it to be a good idea to involve their families and started a shootout during a high school football game. After the conclusion of the case, Chin and Kono sat at headquarters, watching old games posted in the web.”  
“And how exactly did that lead to Five-0?” Asked Leilani with interest, stabbed her fork into a shrimp and put it in her mouth.  
“Well,” Kono grinned and took a sip of her drink, “the quarterback in one of these games was a certain Steven J. McGarrett.”  
“You were quarterback at your high school? I didn’t know that.” Catherine looked at him in amazement. She tried to imagine him as a youth in sports equipment and had to smile at the picture that arose inside her head.  
“Oh, yes, he was,” Kono muttered. “ And even at that time he already wanted with his head through the wall. It was just the opposing defense. In addition, he carried the untypical number 50 for a quarterback.”  
“I understand. 50, so Five-0,” Leilani thought loudly, but Steve and Kono shook their heads synchronously.  
“Oh no, not fifty, but five-zero,” Steve said. “My dad named our family so, because we are not native Hawaiians, after the fiftieth state of the USA. I think he wanted to make us feel like we belonged somewhere.”  
“And since Danny, as New Jersey Cop in Hawaii, Chin, who had been then been accused to be a dirty cop and me as an absolute rookie, who in reality wanted to surf, since we really did not belong somewhere either and then with the ex-SEAL as a boss, it was that we called our unit Five-0,” Kono concluded.  
“Still better than the other suggestions,” Steve said dryly.  
“Oh yes, Chin with his kilometer-long sentence. If we had chosen that, the suspects would be long disappeared before we had announced ourselves,” recalled his colleague smirking.  
“Or you with your Strike Force,” her boss teased.  
“Very funny, Steve,” was Kono’s slightly offended sounding response, but then she grinned. “No, you're right, Boss. Strike Force would not have been ideal either, and let's be honest, we're four, no, we're five now because of Lori, we do not really fit into normal police units.”  
“I know that,” Leilani interrupted. The explanation why Five-0 had pleased her and it also clarified that this unit was more like a family than other units. Simply 'Ohana. “Even if we had spent the time in the Navy or the Marine Corps without too much trouble, when we started at NCIS, we quickly realized that we did not fit into any team. We're just ... Agent Callen from the NCIS in L.A. has described himself once as a one-man tribe, and that applies to me and Keanu as well. Only that we are together a two-man tribe. We put people’s backs up everywhere, and somehow the bosses had enough and founded the Team Shaw,” Leilani said.  
“A two-man tribe?” Catherine asked. “What about your parents?”  
“They divorced when we were out of the high school,” came the spare response from the young agent.  
“Sorry to hear that,” Catherine said. Even if she did not see her family so often, simply because she had in the main service at sea, it was unimaginable for her that her parents could be divorced and she could not always come over if she wanted. But Leilani waved her hand.  
“You know,” somehow the form of address between her and the other Lieutenant had changed, but she was cool with it, for she had nothing against the other woman, “in the first time it was hard. Suddenly no longer both parents permanently around, but sometimes it should not be. Besides, our dad had always been more on duty than at home,” she said, shrugging.  
“Are they similar feuding like Danny and Rachel?” Steve asked, but Leilani shook her head.  
“No not at all. As I said, some people work as friends but not as a couple. Besides, when our dad moved out and looked for an apartment right around the corner. So there was no real change, especially because Mom decided not to go back to Hawaii because of her job.”  
The three others nodded understanding, then turned to other, less serious, subjects.

 

When Keanu opened his eyes and went sleepy to the bathroom, he wondered why it was so strange quiet in the house. Was his sister perhaps not awake at all? Would be extremely unusual, but if he was honest, then Leilani behaved very untypically in the last days. For example, for a week he didn’t feel like his stomach mucosa would be etched away when he drank her coffee.  
After cleaning his teeth, he went downstairs and tapped on his sister's door.  
“Lei, are you awake?” When no reaction came, he stepped carefully in and immediately recognized that some things were missing, which Leilani was, usually, taking to the beach with her.  
Right, today was Leilani's appointment with Kono, he remembered. After this realization came to him, he thought about what he could do with the day.  
When he was in the shower, he had the idea that he could call Florence again to go out with her. After all, they had not seen each other for about three weeks, which in his opinion was not right in a relationship. After finishing his shower, dressing up and cooking fresh coffee, he stepped out onto the terrace with his cell phone and a cup of the black beverage.  
As he glanced over the garden and adjacent beach to the sea, he dealt the red-haired’s number.

Florence was just supervising the young man's exercises, who had after a surfing accident a few weeks ago just begun to strain his knee when her cell phone rang. She smiled, apologizing before she accepted the phone call without paying any attention to the number on the screen.  
“Yes? Sullivan,” she said as usual.  
“Hi Florence, Keanu here.”  
She closed her eyes and sighed softly. Actually, she had hoped that the complete incommunicado would have been a sufficient sign. She was simply not interested in a continuation of the acquaintance. At least not as Keanu hoped, and she guessed what he wanted, for the signals he sent out were more than clear.  
“Hello Keanu. Wait a minute, yes?” She took the phone from her ear and smiled again at her client. “Now take a break, Mr. Jennings, and then do the same exercise and number of reps again.” The respondent nodded, took a drink from the refrigerator provided for the studio's customers, and Florence turned back to her conversation. “Sorry, Keanu, now I'm back for you.”  
“Who is there with you?” She didn’t like the undertone in the voice of the dark-haired at all, but she just shrugged. Should Keanu think what he wanted, she had not been guilty of anything, and besides, they were only friends, even less than that.  
“Oh, just a new client who started his rehab today,” she told him.  
“On the weekend? Why rehab? I thought you were just a personal trainer.” Honest surprise was in his voice.  
“What does it mean, _just_?” She asked more vicious than she intended, but she always reacted like that when someone spoke disparagingly about her job. “I am both a personal trainer and a physiotherapist and as such I cannot always choose my working hours. You should know something like that can happen.”  
“Excuse me.” As she could hear that he was serious, she became a bit calmer again. Still, this little incident strengthened her view to end that something that she had with Keanu as quickly as possible.  
“Alright,” she said.  
“Listen, I call, because I wanted to ask you if we want to eat together tonight. If you can’t because you have to work, I would fully understand that.”  
“Sounds good,” she said, relieved that an opportunity for a clarifying discussion was so near.  
“8pm at _Haleiwa Joe's_ in Haleiwa?” He suggested.  
“Oh, I have not been there for a long time,” she said honestly delighted.  
“Great. Should I pick you up, or ...?”  
“No need,” she interrupted. “I live on the north coast, so it's easier when we meet in front of the restaurant.”  
Surely she would not tell Keanu where she lived, even if he possibly could get to know it by his possibilities at work. But as far as her flat was concerned, she was particular.  
“Okay, so tonight, and Florence?”  
“Yes?”  
“I'm really looking forward to see you again.”  
After she had hung up, she sighed and then turned to the young man with the fuzzy blond hair.  
“Well, Mr. Jennings, let's see that we get you back fit quickly.”

 

Nervously stepped Florence from one foot to the other and waited for Keanu. She would have preferred not to have this conversation face-to-face, maybe over the telephone, or even better simply never again spoke to the dark-haired man, nor responded to his calls. But that would have been just cowardly. It was possible to say much about her, but when she once had decided for or against something she followed this path unconditionally.  
In order to distract herself she turned her head and looked at the building in which the restaurant was located.  
The elongated, one storey building reminiscent of a large with ashlar covered bungalow. The roof was covered with light gray corrugated iron, which was a practical and cost-effective solution and gave the building a certain own charm. The ashlar was interrupted at regular intervals by smaller bamboo linings, which livened up the massive wall somewhat and gave bright accents. In addition, there was large greenery. The flowerbeds around the building almost swelled over from Hawaiian plant splendor. An illuminated sign in red letters on a brown background, showed the name of the restaurant.  
Even though the reason for this meeting was a bit unpleasant, she had to concede that Keanu really had a taste for the choice of locations. Nevertheless, a longer delay wouldn’t bring anything. She had to clear the fronts between herself and the dark-haired once and for all.  
“Hello beauty”, a well-known voice sounded behind her.  
She sighed and turned around. “Hello Keanu.”

Already when the agent had parked his car in the parking area near the beach and had gone out, he could see the young woman waiting for him at the entrance of the restaurant. Today, as if she wanted to celebrate the first warmer day of the year, she wore a turquoise long-top and beige shorts. Keanu snorted at the thought. As if they had to worry about the weather in Hawaii. The occasional showers of rain didn’t really disturb anyone, at least no locals. The tourists bellyached about it, of course, but you can’t please everyone.  
Keanu tilted his head and looked at the long legs of the red-haired, which were further emphasized by the shorts. But instead of completing the outfit with flip-flops or sandals, she wore airy low-heeled ankle boots in the same color as the shorts. He ran over his shirt, adjusted his suit vest, and walked towards her after he had crossed the street. “Hello beauty,” he greeted her kindly.  
Slowly, Florence returned the smile after she had turned to him. “Hello Keanu.”  
He frowned slightly. So he hadn’t imagined the welcome after the long separation to be. Not that he had expected to be greeted directly by a never-ending hug and hot kisses, but something more cordial could it have been. But maybe the redhead had just a lousy day. After all, she had had to work at the weekend and that could spoil everyone’s mood. He offered her his arm and smiled charmingly.  
“Shall we?”

After they had entered the restaurant, Keanu winded his way to the bar and looked friendly at the young woman behind it.  
“Good evening. My name is Keanu Shaw and I have a reservation for a table.”  
The woman looked up, smiled, and then pointed through the room.  
“We saved something for you in the back.”  
Keanu nodded gratefully, then walked followed by Florence in the direction given to him.  
After sitting at one of the small tables on the wide window front, she looked at him questioningly.  
“How did you do that?”  
“What?” Keanu pretended to be completely unaware, but enjoyed the curiosity that could be seen on Florence's face.  
“Normally one can’t reserve here and if, only for larger groups. So, how did you manage that?” She repeated her question.  
Keanu shrugged his shoulders and let his eyes wander through the room. The interior of the restaurant was bright and cozy. The walls were kept in a creamy white tone, while the ceiling was covered with light brown bamboo mats. The lower half of the walls was also covered with bamboo, but with thin rods, joined together to form a kind of paneling. Different large photographs - mainly of the water and the sea - as well as some surfboards, which had been hung up, completed the decoration. The Wall of Fame of the Boardroom was an attraction in itself and ranked among the most popular seats in one of the island's best-visited restaurants. Therefore, the redheads question was absolutely justified. “Oh, you know, you just have to know the right people,” he replied casually.  
“That can’t be so simple.” She leaned forward and smiled a little. “Come on, Keanu, tell me,” she said obstinately.  
He leaned back in his chair, pretending to think hard, but then he grinned. “One of the colleagues in the office is married to a sister-in-law of the CEOs girlfriends’ sister and I asked him for a favor.”  
“And that worked? At this twisted kind of relationship?” Florence could not believe it was really that simple.  
He raised his arms and smiled broadly. “That's ‘Ohana. That’s how it works on the Island.”  
She started for a reply, but was interrupted by the appearance of a waiter who was probably a student that wanted to earn a little money, because of his age. He handed each of them a menu. “The recommendation of our chef today is _Surf 'n' Turf_ from squid and delicious roast beef, with twisters and a small side salad”, he announced.  
Florence noticed how the eyes of her counterpart began to shine, but she waved her hand and handed the menu back to the employee.  
“For me, just an Ipanema. I'm not particularly hungry.”  
Keanu raised an eyebrow questioningly, ordered as well something to drink, but asked to keep the menu, in case they wanted to eat something, something Florence knew would not happen. She would drink her cocktail and then try to come home quickly. The redhead slowly felt more and more eerie towards Keanu, and especially the looks he kept throwing at her.  
When the waiter had left, the agent looked questioningly at her, the head slightly tilted.  
“Sure you don’t want to eat?”  
She shook her head. “I have an early appointment tomorrow and actually I wanted to be on the sofa with a book for ages and move to the bedroom within the next hour.”  
“That sounds like you start very early.”  
She shrugged. “Eight o'clock is standard, nine a miracle and seven o'clock simply the unfortunate exception.”  
“Oh God.” Keanu looked stunned at her. “Seven o'clock? At this time I don’t even think about getting up, unless there's an emergency.”  
“Well,” she replied with a sarcastic voice, “not every one of us is lucky not to have a boss breathing down ones neck because of the working hours.”  
“I ...” he shook his head. “I am not quite that free in my decisions either. But I really did not want to talk about the work. There's just too much going wrong at the moment.” She looked at him questioningly, but he just waved off. He did not want to talk about the perpetrator, who had already killed two women. “What I wanted to tell you before, you look really good. The color fits you.”  
She stroked the top and smiled. Somehow Keanu was still a pleasant conversation partner, but something was in him that repeatedly forced her inner alarm bells to run amok. And she should really listen to this warning signs.  
A few minutes later the waiter came with their drinks and Florence waved off again the question if they wanted to order something to eat. She would exactly drink this one cocktail, explain Keanu the matter and then go home.  
When she had tasted her drink, she noticed that the dark-haired was looking out of the window and had a pensive smile on his face. She followed his gaze and saw a white bridge stretching across a river in two arches.  
“You said you live here on the Northshore?” She nodded. “Do you know the biggest test of courage for the kids of O’ahu?” She negated. “The bridge you see there is the Rainbow Bridge. Both the children from Haleiwa, as well as from Honolulu come and jump from there into the river.”  
“Did you do that too?” She wanted to know seized by sudden curiosity.  
The dark-haired nodded. “I even climbed one of the arches and jumped from there.”  
“Didn’t that hurt?” She inquired.  
“The pain in my broken arm was bad, even when it was relieved by the kiss of the sweet Nora, who I had tried to impress,” he laughed.  
“Nora?” She asked interested.  
He nodded, took a sip of his drink, and briefly reminisced. “The sweet little Nora Iwalani. We had a great time together. For whole two weeks. Then she left me for a boy with a moped,” he finished.  
Florence tried to hide the distortion of her mouth behind her glass. They had probably all been part of such experiences: if the heart-throb, for which one had committed some stupidity, suddenly had interest for someone else. She placed her glass, the content of which had already diminished considerably, and knew that she would not be able to avoid the topic, which was the real reason for the meeting, any longer. But until that, she would enjoy the view of the Anahulu River and the Rainbow Bridge.

For a Sunday evening, the rooms of _Haleiwa Joe’s_ were surprisingly empty, and so the waiter responsible for their table had them in full sight more or less all the time. So as soon as her glasses were empty for a few minutes, he came back to them and asked if he could bring anything else. Florence shook her head, but also noticed that Keanu wanted to make another order.  
“I think we need a few more minutes,” she said kindly towards the young man who nodded and then went to another table, where a small family sat. Florence looked briefly at the young man, then turned to her companion with a serious expression. “Listen, Keanu, I think I should be honest with you. I really enjoyed these two dates, but it would be wrong if I don’t tell you the truth and that is that I don’t want the same as you do.”  
“You can’t know that,” he told her.  
“Yes, Keanu, I know that,” she said sharply, “I can see how you look at me. I notice that you already think of a relationship and that after just one date. But I already realized at that day that it wouldn’t turn out well with us. I thought if I didn’t call, you would understand, but it don’t seem so.” She paused for a moment and took a deep breath. “When you called me today, I shortly played with the idea not to come,” she admitted honestly. “But that would have been cowardly, and that I am absolutely not. That is why I am here today, drank a cocktail and said what I wanted to say and had to. So I'll get up to the bar, settle my bill, and then leave.”  
She was glad to be rid of it, but now the desire to leave the place and her companion, who was clearly visibly shocked, make itself felt. She rose, but was stopped by Keanu, who grabbed her by the wrist. “Wait, can’t we talk about it calmly?”  
She shook her head firmly and freed herself with a jerk of her hand. “There's nothing we could talk about. You're really a nice guy, Keanu, but you have to see that between the both of us can and will never be something.”  
So she turned around and left the restaurant after paying. He looked after her and the expression in his dark brown eyes grew harder.  
Why hadn’t she said that before? Had he misunderstood her behavior? Had he done something wrong? He had to know what it was that the woman he'd considered perfect didn’t want to be with him. He got up and settled his bill, too.  
When he was standing in front of the building, he looked around searchingly and thought to see Florence, who was heading for the beach. He accelerated his steps to catch up. They had to have it out once and for all.

 

The waves broke softly on the beach, and the full moon gave enough light to let the man see clearly what was happening before him. He was grazing in the frightened expression in the wide-open eyes of the young woman lying before him. He leaned himself over her, gently stroked her cheek and smiled at her. She was sweet, that was out of the question, but she had herself ascribed the following. He reached for the knife, which was stuck in his waistband at his back. When he freed the blade from its sheath, the woman's gaze became panicky, she began to twist. She wanted to free herself!  
“Stop it!” He growled as he pushed her with his weight deeper into the sand. “You have to attribute the coming to yourself, and you know that. So accept the inevitable.” His voice was cold and no compassion swung into it.  
She wanted to answer something, but slowly the remedy that he had given her began to have an effect. Her tongue felt heavy, her strength left her, and her counter-defense became less.  
His mouth twitched. Yes, so it was good. No one would be suspicious from a distance view. It might look as if a young couple enjoyed themselves in the sand. He bent down to her, stroked his nose along her neck and sucked in her scent. Her warm body under him relaxed, became softer, the time was now there. He had already enjoyed it with the two other women when the knife slowly entered them. As it pierced the skin bit by bit and eventually caused the fatal injury. But with the young woman before him, it was an even greater pleasure. She had fooled him! Had made him believe things that were not true, and for this she was now punished. The blade penetrated farther and farther, and increased his desire for more; increased his desire to punish her for having made things up and punishing her he would; her and all the others who were the same. The blood that had already escaped changed the color of the top, for which he had complimented her earlier. He almost regretted what he did to her, but only almost. She had not behaved properly and mistakes must be punished. He tightened the pressure on the weapon as he recalled what she had done to him. A cold smile played around his mouth as he sensed that the blade had reached its destination.  
The young woman under him did her last breath. Then it was over, he removed the blade from her body. Still smiling, he looked at the blood on the edge, which was almost black in the light of the moon. Then something occurred to him, and resentment made him frown. He had forgotten his rag. How could that happen to him? He tilted his head and made a decision. She would not need the top anymore, so he could use it to free the blade from her blood. He wiped it off and put it back into the sheath. He stood up with a last look at the corpse.  
He was about to pull the sand off his pants when a movement caught his attention. About 20 meters away from him stood someone, who was now turning around and hastily left the beach.  
The man gave a soft curse. Had he been seen, or even worse recognized?

 


	13. Another body

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new body, a new quarrel and the end of a relationship.

When Kalea Francis prepared for her daily run at the beach this morning, she could not know how this day would go on. She closed her apartment door behind her and jogged slowly across the street towards the beach. In her mind she went through her daily routine. At the local elementary school where she was working, a firefighting exercise would take place today, and she would have to talk to the fifth graders about what expected them at the end of the summer when they were attending Junior High. But she did not really worry that one of her students would have any problems. She had been lucky this time. None of them was an obvious problem and the parents were also able to talk with; at least most of them, but she would not let Mrs. Clarke spoil her mood today.  
She reached the beach and accelerated her pace. She simply needed this every morning routine of about three kilometers to get a free head. It was her balance to work with ten- and eleven-year-olds. She enjoyed this quietness and the light of the early morning each time anew. The fresh air inhaling she ran along the water line, until she saw a figure lying in the sand. She slowed her steps. Perhaps it was someone who had celebrated yesterday and then fell asleep on the beach? She wanted to make a wide bow around the person, when the red spot on the top caught her eye. At first she thought it was a spilled drink and wanted to assure herself that the young woman was all right, but when she got closer, she noticed the crack in the top. That was the moment when she knew that the young woman was not a leftover night-owl. Kalea stopped, took her cell phone out of her jacket pocket and dialed the emergency call.

 

The brunette smiled slightly as her boyfriend put a plate of pancakes and a small bowl of muesli in front of her.  
“Was the buffet so plentiful?” She asked.  
He nodded, sat in his seat opposite her and drank a sip of his coffee.  
“But I ordered a portion of Loco Moco for myself.”  
“That's disgusting,” she said, grimacing. She had become quite accustomed to the Hawaiian way of life, but some food must be, according to her opinion, forbidden and something that consisted of rice, meatballs, fried eggs, gravy, bacon, and shrimp was simply nothing to eat for breakfast or any other meal. But actually it was still better than the unspeakable spam, which seemed to be available here everywhere and every time. “You know, stick to your Hawaiian dishes, but don’t ask me to do that.”  
He smiled gently, then nodded to the waiter, who had brought a plate with a hill of various ingredients buried by a brown sauce. She shook her head as he fell upon it.  
“You know, Steve, sometimes I wonder myself about you.” Catherine shook her head.  
“Why?” He muttered, as he had completely filled his mouth with food.  
“You're complaining about Danny when he gets a whole load of Malasadas, but at the same time you count Loco Moco to your favorite meals. A little hypocritical, isn’t it?”  
He looked at her indignantly, but his answer was interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone.  
“Yes, McGarrett. - Morning Duke, what is it? - Where? - Yeah, okay, I'm on the way.” He hung up and looked at Catherine apologetically. “Sorry to interrupt our breakfast, but we have a new corpse in Haleiwa. Shall I drop you at my place?”  
She stood up and shook her head. “This is a total detour. No, I'll go out with you, drop you at the scene and take your car back to the city, as you'll probably go with Danny anyway.”  
Steve agreed, nodding. This was really the most sensible solution.

 

“Keanu, move your butt out of bed. We have a new corpse!”  
The loud voice of his sister tore him out of his dreams. Yesterday evening had not gone the way it had been planned. He had deceived himself in Florence; had deceived himself in her feelings for him. After catching her on the beach and trying to talk to her again - which had not been successful - he had not yet gone home. It had taken him to Diamond Head, where he had sat on a rock and looked out into the darkness of the sea. A question had crossed his mind again and again: how could he have been so wrong. He had really believed he and Florence would have a chance of a future together. But apparently this should not be so. He sat up in his bed and ran over his face. Why did this happen to him? Again and again he was disappointed by the women he developed feelings for. He invited them to restaurants, went out with them, was charming, kind, honest about his job, listened to what they had to say, and ... It was just never enough.  
“Kea,” he was called again. He heard his sister coming up the stairs and then pounding at his door. “Are you finally awake?”  
Annoyed, he jumped up, went to the door, opened it violently and then hissed, “What is?”  
“Finding of a female body on the North Shore.” Leilani let her gaze wander over his figure and sighed softly. “God, Kea, you really look like shit. I'd better drive while you try to turn into a human being. Coffee is in the kitchen and hurry up a bit!”  
So she turned around and ran down the stairs, and Keanu heard a car start in front of the house.  
He went to the bathroom, and, when the water had reached a pleasant temperature, stepped under the shower and hissed with pain. He lowered his eyes and frowned as he saw three parallel wounds that extended from the crook of the arm to the middle of the right forearm.  
How had that happened? He tried to reconstruct the events of the evening, but did not come to any realization when he might have suffered the injury. So he just shrugged his shoulders, finished the shower, and, after he had ignored the coffee his sister had cooked after a cautious sip, made his way to the place where the corpse was found. Leilani had him informed with a short note on the kitchen counter over the exact location.

 

At the same time with Steve, a by now very familiar, dark blue Shelby, was stopping in the parking lot at Waialua Bay. He gave Catherine a kiss on the cheek and then got out.  
“Good morning, Leilani.” He stepped up to the young agent who had left her car almost synchronously with him and smiled at her in a friendly way. Something that Catherine watched with frowned brow. She noticed the two looked at each other and sighed softly. It had probably occurred what she had feared on the one hand, but had always been clear to her on the other hand. This day had to come. Since the lunch she had spent with Kono, Steve and Leilani at Kamekona’s, she had become aware that the young investigator, with her thinking about family, was on the same side as the black-haired. They had, as the conversations on that day had shown, both similar views of what they wanted and hoped for from the future, even though they had not yet realized it so far.  
When Steve and Leilani walked across the beach, Catherine started the pick-up and headed to the dark-haired's house, where she always stayed during her vacation. She would pack her things, get an accommodation on the base or in a hotel for the next few days and then either wait for Steve or visit him in the office during the day. She would not delay the inevitable, but clarify the position once and for all. Why should she cling to something she knew it would not last long? For her the affection between the two investigators was simply too clear and probably also visible to all.  
She took a deep breath, but then concentrated on morning’s traffic. Even if it ached, what must happen happened.

“Where is your brother?” Steve asked as he walked along the beach beside the young agent.  
“He had a date yesterday and came home late.” She shrugged. “Had to throw old sleepy head out of bed.”  
Steve shook his head grinning, confessed for the first time openly to himself, what he had already noticed a few days ago at Kamekona’s, namely that one could have a good time with the young agent and she also had a refreshing sense of humor. But then he concentrated on the crime scene they had reached. Already at first sight it was clear why both the Five-0 and the Shaws had been informed after the emergency call had been received. Apart from the fact that this time the dead woman had not been found in her apartment, all the circumstances were completely identical with those of the first two victims. Even the arms were positioned on her chest again and her eyes were tightly closed.  
“Do we know who she is?” Steve addressed the word to Kono, who had arrived at the scene before them because she had been on her morning surf turn nearby.  
“Forensics did not find any cell phone or ID card, only a key and some money she had with her. Max estimates her to be mid-twenty to mid-thirty. Unlike the previous victims, she seems to have resisted, so there may be the chance of DNA traces” Kono listed the findings so far.  
Leilani nodded and looked at the young, red-haired woman who was lying in the sand and seemed to be asleep. The turquoise top and the beige short seemed neat and the shoes, which were next to her hip, seemed to have been pulled off of her, just as if she just wanted to hold her feet in the water.  
“Who found her?” Leilani turned to Kono. She pointed to a young, black-haired woman who was talking to Chin and Lori. “This is Kalea Francis, a teacher from Waialua. She wanted to jog her daily tour on the beach as she discovered the victim. At first she thought it was a drunkard who had fallen asleep on the beach until she discovered the blood on the top. To be on the safe side, she did not go any further, but directly called the police.”  
“Okay, thank you, Kono,” Leilani thanked, then went to Max, who was still leaning over the body. “Dr. Bergmann, what can you tell us?”  
The young Doctor looked up and nodded friendly to her.  
“Good morning, Agent Shaw. I am really sorry that I have to call you to a crime scene so early, but unfortunately, murderers do not follow a regular schedule.”  
“No problem.” She waved off, knelt beside him, and looked at the corpse. The dark red hair was full of sand and lay tangled around her face. Apparently, not only the location was different, but she seemed to have defended herself strongly against their attacker, as Kono already pointed out “What do you think, Dr. Bergmann? Did our victim know this time her perpetrator?”  
“Well, it seems so, because she has slight bruises on the wrists, as if she had been brutally held down. However, the edge of the wound canal is not frayed, which suggests that she must have given up her self-defenses some time. So I think she too was stunned.”  
“Is it not possible that he just knocked her down?” Steve asked who had stepped towards them.  
“No,” Max shook his head, “then you would see bruises in the face, but that's not the case.” He stood up and motioned to the two assistants who had accompanied him to take the corpse away. “All I can say after the first investigation is that the death time was about nine o'clock last night and the weapon is identical with the one which killed Mrs. Wolfe and Miss McKegan; more to say not until I had her on the table.”  
“Of course,” Steve nodded, and said good-bye to the young man, who climbed into a parked white van and drove with the corpse to the OCME.  
“And what do we do now?” Leilani asked as she and Steve had stepped to his team.  
“I'd suggest that we go to headquarters together and try to find out who our victim is by means of face recognition,” the black-haired man and his colleagues nodded approvingly. Since Keanu still had not arrived at the scene, Leilani took out her cell phone to call her brother and let him know that they would meet at the Five-0 Headquarters.

“Steve?” Lori tapped on his office door and pointed to the meeting room. “We've identified the victim.”  
“Okay, I'll come.” Steve stood up and followed her. “So, who is she?”  
“Florence Sullivan, 29 years old. Born and raised in Helena, Montana. She had been in Hawaii for three years and worked as a physiotherapist and personal trainer in the downtown area.”  
“Something special about her?”  
“Maybe,” said Leilani, who was comfortable with her laptop on one of the sofas and had access to the various databases from there. “Her great-grandfather was William 'Wild Bill' Lovett. If that does not tell you anything that would not surprise me, he was a member of the White Hand Gang in Brooklyn in the early twenties. Apparently her father, however, withdrew from the, let us say, family business but there were still people who were not very well-disposed towards them because of this family connection.”  
“Could this be a motive for murder?” Kono interjected, but both Steve and Leilani negated.  
“Maybe to kill her, but two other women before? This seems a little pointless.”  
“I agree,” Lori admitted to the young Agent, and then looked at the photo of the cheerful red-haired that had been placed on the big screen. “That would be too easy. Actually, I wanted to suggest including Blond as a selection criterion for the offender in the profile, but since we found Miss Sullivan, that is invalid.”  
“So he has no external preferences either.” Danny leaned on the table and frowned thoughtfully. “This man will drive us mad.”  
The others nodded approvingly and Steve sighed slightly. “Okay, the crime lab is busy with the tox screening, Max takes care of the autopsy and ...” He was interrupted by the opening of the entrance door and saw Catherine, who was aiming for him.  
“Steve, can we talk? Privately?”  
He agreed, even if he wondered what his girlfriend could want, when they had just said good-bye to each other a few hours ago, and by that time everything had been all right.  
“Let's go to my office,” he said.

A few minutes earlier, Catherine had been sitting in her car in front of the Iolani Palace, her hands clenched around the steering wheel. Was it really okay of her to go Steve during work? To bother him with a personal issue during an ongoing investigation? She shook her head. No it was not. But she had to get it done. Had to talk to Steve now, otherwise she might give in. Remember what always had connected them. Their common past would always tie them together, and if she hesitated that might get in her way. She took a deep breath, encouraged herself and got out. She would clarify this now or never. Although never was no option.  
She locked her car, straightened her shoulders and entered the building.

In Steve's office Catherine sat down on the black leather sofa as he leaned against his desk and looked at her questioningly. “What's the matter?”  
Steve wondered not only what Catherine wanted from him but also what had made him leave the meeting. But the look with which Cath had looked at him when she came in had made him more than clear that the following conversation was important; at least for her, and so he followed her to his office.  
“First of all, I want you to know that everything I'm going to say is not your fault. It's completely me”, she began, hitting Steve unprepared.  
“Cath,” he straightened slightly, looking at her uncertainly, “that sounds as if you want to end our relationship.”  
She looked up and a sad expression crept into her eyes.  
“That’s the point.”  
“What? But why?” He didn’t understand what was going on and he couldn’t stand it if he didn’t understand something. He actually thought their relationship was going well. He had even thought about taking the next step and asking Catherine if she wanted to marry him.  
“That may sound hackneyed now, but it's not really you, it's me”, she repeated.  
“This is actually trite,” he interrupted, crossed his arms in front of his chest.  
“Steve,” she sighed softly, “you're really a nice guy. But we simply have different views as to where this relationship is going.”  
“What?”  
“Listen, as long as it ran, it went well. It was fun with no obligations and we were more or less friends with certain benefits.”  
“But not for me,” he said firmly.  
“I know.” She rose. “That's the problem. I had imagined that it would remain the same forever, but it isn’t. You're a family man, Steve, and I just don’t see that for myself. I don’t long for children or a marriage. But you, you want and need it,” she appeased.  
“That's not true,” he said. “Have I ever suggested that I am not satisfied with what we have?” He took a step toward her and wanted to reach for her arm, but she resisted the touch.  
“No, you didn’t.” She shook her head. “Not yet. But at some point this desire, which is deep in you, would be felt, and then we would argue because we simply have different views of life and the future. I only forestall the inevitable.”  
“But why? Why now? Have I ever given you the impression that I want something other than what we have?” He looked at her; the disbelief about the whole situation was clear in his blue eyes.  
“Steve ...” How could she tell him? How could she express it so he could understand what had changed? “You're in no way to blame for this step. Something just happened that compels me.”  
“And what?” To the hitherto felt disbelief, there was also irritation about the fact that Catherine couldn’t clearly say what she was talking about.  
Catherine looked out through the glass door and noticed how the others were trying to act as if they had not been watching. The twins were also here, which she had not noticed at all on her arrival. Apparently they had decided to combine their resources and operate from a common base. Her gaze remained fixed on Leilani. Catherine hoped that she wasn’t wrong about the feelings of the two investigators, but even if that were the case, it would be a pity, but she had to finish this conversation now.  
“Let's just say that I believe someone who had similar views to you stepped in your life and that this someone is feeling something for you,” she said cautiously.  
“Excuse me?” He asked incensed. Oh, how she detested this questioning and at the same time disapproving intonation in his voice.  
“Listen, Steve,” she turned completely to the door and put her hand on the handle, but still looked at him, “it's just a fact that I think our relationship would not have lasted long. I only recognized it earlier. So, please do not make a scene now. I've already taken my things out of your house.”  
“Can’t we talk about it?” He looked at her imploringly, but she did not let herself soften and decided negatively.  
“No, Steve, look at it. What we had was great as long as it lasted, but it's over now. I wish you all the best for the future, because as I said, I really like you. But I can’t give you what you need.” She opened the office door, stepped out, and gave a serious look to his team and the twins. “Do it well, folks. Maybe one'll see again.” With that she left the office, the building and Steve's life.

“What did she mean, one’ll see sometime? Has she to return on duty?” Danny looked irritated after the brunette had left the office.  
“Well, I know she only had a short vacation,” Kono said, “but that sounded so final.”  
The others nodded and Lori noticed that her boss seemed really down. She was about to move to his office and ask him what was going on when the door opened and Steve stormed out. “So where were we?” he barked.  
“All right, buddy?” Danny asked, looking anxiously at him.  
“Yeah, well, everything's great,” he said, ignoring his emotional turmoil.  
„Sure? You look like you're going to shoot somebody.”  
“I'll shoot you, Danny, if we don’t continue working,” he growled at his friend. The blond gave his colleagues a surprised look, then shrugged his shoulders and wanted to say something, but then Kono decided to ask a question: “Is everything okay with you and Cath?”  
“Listen,” Steve flied into a rage, “we have a serial killer on the island and no clues that could lead us to him. So could you please have the goodness to finally focus on the subject?”  
His team nodded. They shared the tasks between themselves and wanted to go to their respective offices when Leilani decided that she wanted to know what had really happened between Steve and Catherine. She cleared her throat and stepped cautiously towards him.  
“Listen, Steve, I know we had our problems when Keanu and I came to the island, but if you need someone to talk to, you can come to me, especially when you need someone who stands a little outside.”  
“Do you know what I need?” He snapped. “That all do as I have commanded.”  
Keanu, who was still in earshot, took a hissing breath. It was never a good idea to snap at his sister without reason. It wasn’t so that she didn’t often go through the roof because of trifles and intercourses were very frequent between them, but then they had differed opinions. Steve, on the other hand, had just more or less signed his death sentence.  
“You disgusting ass!” Leilani glanced furiously.  
“And so it starts,” thought the male Shaw groaning.  
“Only salute and do what was ordered to you,” his sister continued. “Something else isn’t possible for you.” Leilani indicated a salute, which was more than clearly not to be taken seriously. “Always, ‘Yes, sir’ or ‘No, Sir’. Something else isn’t able to enter your square SEAL skull! You're just vile!”  
“Correct me, if I'm wrong,” Steve said, strangely calm again, despite her insults and the fact that he still did not know why Catherine really had broken up with him. “But aren’t you the one who works at the NCIS and hadn’t you been in the Navy, too?”  
Leilani folded her arms in front of her chest and glared at him angrily. “Excuse me?”  
“Well, since you have also been in the Navy and also works for a Federal Agency, shouldn’t you be able to follow orders when you get them from someone who is both older than you and took precedence over you?”  
Keanu grimaced as if this statement would cause him physical pain. The siblings had talked about the circumstance that Steve's military rank was higher then theirs, but so far they hadn’t had any problems with that. Because the black haired hadn’t put it out so far. But to use it as an argument in a senseless discussion was simply not good at all.  
“That's ...” She took a step towards Steve. “Do you really want to come with that point? I just wanted to offer to be there for you. But if you want to be so obstinate and stubborn and can’t even accept something so simple, then you are just beyond help.”  
“If you see that so, then you should go, Leilani. Because I can’t work with people who are so unreasonable,” he turned her away harshly.  
“Unreasonable?” She turned to her brother. “Did you hear that, Kea? He has called me unreasonable!”  
He ran over the right forearm as the scratches had started to itch since they had come into contact with the fabric of the long sleeve, but now looked to the two squabblers. “Hey, don’t pull me in there.”  
His sister snorted and then turned back to Steve.  
“Steven,” she began, honestly seeking calm. “Whatever your conversation with Catherine was about, it seemed to have stirred you up ...”  
“How I feel, is nothing that concerns you!” Steve spat.  
“Yes, it is,” Leilani said slowly, and laid a hand on his crossed arms. If she was right with her guess than had Steve been left by his girlfriend a few minutes ago, and as much as she liked to be in a proper and heated discussion, the circumstances had to be right, which they weren’t in this case. “For if a friend, or even an acquaintance, feels bad, then one takes that to heart and one offers help. You should know that because after the same principle the from you so highly regarded ‘Ohana works.” She nodded to her brother, who understood what she wanted and started packing their things together. “Listen, Steve, Keanu and I will go home and continue working from there. Should we find something, we'll call you. The same thing, however, we expect from you and Steve ...” She waited until he looked at her, “I meant my offer really seriously. If you want to talk, then you know where you can find me.”

Steve was still standing in the middle of the meeting room minutes after the twins had left the headquarters, thinking about what had happened. He just could not understand why Catherine had broken up with him, and then even with such a lame excuse. What does it mean that they have different views on the future? He wanted to enjoy the present, just like Catherine, and perhaps even begin to think of a family in the next few years. But was that wrong? In his opinion not, absolutely not at all. Everyone needed a family, the security they gave, and if he wanted that security with Catherine, why was that something bad? Was it? He shook his head inwardly. No it was not. At least not from Steve's point of view. The fact that Catherine had clearly spoken against a family of her own he forgot for the moment, simply because he did not want to understand it, why she thought so, he had seen Catherine with children from time to time and they did not just suited her she also knew how to act with them. So why did not she want her own? Or did she just don’t want them with him?  
“Steve?” Chin came out of his office and looked questioningly at his friend and boss. “May I interrupt you?”  
Since Steve’s mood was currently hanging by a thread, the question was quite justified.  
“Sure, Chin, just get out with it.”  
“Guess who had been the last client of our victim.”  
He looked annoyed at Chin he just did not have the patience to play, and shrugged. “No idea.”  
“William Jennings.”  
“The friend of Miss McKegan?” His boss asked in amazement.  
“Him and no one else.”  
Steve frowned and nodded slowly. “Okay, bring him right away in.”

When Steve and Chin faced William Jennings this time, he seemed less like the sunnyboy they had met at their first encounter. What was perhaps due to the still visible injury in the face as well as the knee supported by a splint and the crutches. Nevertheless, Steve could see that Jennings had somehow hoped to be questioned by Kono.  
“Mr. Jennings, we've learned that you were a customer of Florence Sullivan.”  
“That's right,” said the blond. “But only since ... So yesterday was our second visit.”  
“How did you choose Miss Sullivan as physiotherapist?” Chin leaned against the bare concrete wall and looked at Jennings, who was sitting on the silver metal chair with his leg stretched out.  
“That was not my decision,” the young man said, shrugging. “After my accident, I was in the HG, the Honolulu General,” he added. “My doctor, a Doctor Cunningham, has recommended her. He said she was the best in her field.”  
By the name of Cunningham, in conjunction with the Honolulu General, Chin gave his friend a glaring look, but the latter decided to ignore it. He did not want to be reminded of the good-looking doctor, who was more than clearly interested in Leilani.  
“Do you know how Cunningham knew Miss Sullivan?”  
“No, he never mentioned anything in that direction.”  
Steve nodded and then turned to the actual subject. “Mr. Jennings, we had asked you to come here because you may be one of the last people who saw Miss Sullivan alive.”  
“Really?” Jennings sat up a little. “Absolutely amazing.”  
Steve rolled his eyes annoyed at the expression. The guy was simply incomprehensible.  
“You said that was your second session. Was something unusual? Has she perhaps behaved strangely?”  
“Well, not really, I mean, so well I didn’t know her yet. Even if I'd like to change it, because honestly,” Jennings shrugged his shoulders to make clear that the whole thing didn’t really bother him, “she was really hot.”  
Chin and Steve shook their heads synchronously. This was really incredible.  
“So was your appointment normal?”  
“Yeah, I'd say so, although there was something,” the young man pointed to Chin's question. “She got a phone call that she did not seem pleased with,” he remembered.  
“Do you know who called?” Steve straightened a bit; maybe they would get a clue that finally took them a step further.  
“No, no plan. She tried to pretend that nothing had happened, but she did not succeed very well.”  
“Perhaps an ex-boyfriend?” Chin posed as a guess in the room.  
“Possible, as I said ...”  
“You didn’t know her that well, got it,” was he interrupted by Steve. “Where did you go after Miss Sullivan?”  
“Am I a suspect?” Jennings' voice sounded both joyfully excited and irritated.  
“Just answer my question,” the dark-haired simply overstepped Jennings' reply.  
“After we were done, I called a friend to pick me up. Because of my knee I can’t drive a car.”  
“What's the name of this friend?” Steve continued. He was not finished yet.  
“Andy,” came the concise answer.  
“Andy and next?” Steve asked, obviously annoyed.  
“No idea,” Jennings replied, shrugging. “Just got to know him a few weeks ago.”  
“When exactly?”  
“That must have been a few days after you questioned me the last time. I had still been in my jeep on the beach, and tried somehow to get in touch with Ben Bass. Andy is also a surfer and finds my idea with the clothing brand fully awesome and even wanted to go with. Have then tried to make money through smaller competitions and betting, in order to get the whole thing off the ground. It actually worked quite well until ...” he pointed to his knee, “this happened.”  
“You said you called this Andy, so do you have a number that you can give us?” Steve said.  
“Do you want to check my alibi?” Jennings's indifference seemed to have fled, and nervousness was expressed in his voice.  
“Listen, Mr. Jennings,” Steve noticed how his bad mood reappeared, “why we do something is our business. Either give us now the number of this Andy, or you can officially see yourself as a main suspect in a investigation against a serial killer”, he growled to the witness.  
“And that means a trip to Halawa. What's quite far from the beach,” Chin added, causing Jennings to frantically search for his cell phone.  
“Here. Pick out all the numbers you need. Just please do not send me to jail,” he almost begged the investigators.  
Grinning, Chin took the mobile phone and sent a copy of the address book to the computer in the conference room.  
“Thank you, Mr. Jennings. You can go, but do not leave the island.”  
“Definitely not. I’m not so stupid and put me on with Five-0.” He reached for his crutches and limped out of the interrogation room.  
Chin and Steve looked thoughtfully after him.  
“Do you think he has anything to do with it?” Chin turned to Steven.  
“I think it's very unlikely,” he said. “But he gave us a new hint.”  
“You mean that strange call the victim has received?” Steve nodded and then walked down the hallway to the elevator to get back to the office. “Well, then I'll look to see if I get the telephone logs. Perhaps this leads to a new track. Is definitely the most promising point we have at the moment.”  
“If you did ...” Steve pressed the button for their floor and crossed his arms. A posture he always had when he thought about something or something went against the grain. “If you find something, please notify the Shaws.”  
Chin frowned. “Don’t you want to do that?”  
“I think if I'll talk to Leilani today again, there will be dead people,” his boss muttered.  
The Hawaiian laughed. “What did she say this time that got you worked up?”  
“Oh, nothing.” Steve waved off. “I only have enough of women for today.”  
“I'll probably pass this on to Lori and Kono. Not that they want to make the mistake of talking to you”, Chin said with a crooked grin and then left the elevator toward his office. Steve looked at him thoughtfully before he went into his own office.

When he was sitting at his desk, he could not focus his thoughts on the case. Even though it was so important, but all he could think of was the question why Catherine had broken up with him, and on the other hand the good feeling of Leilani's hand on his arm and the fascinating expression in her eyes when she looked at him furiously glittering.  
Why did she stick so tightly in his head? Why couldn’t Catherine be honest with him and tell him why she had really left him? Her statement was so vague, so utterly unintelligible. He thought again, if he had behaved wrong. Had he did or said something wrong? Was he to blame, even if she had said it was her? Did he perhaps ...  
A knock on his office door tore him out of his thoughts. As he lifted his head, he faced Danny, who looked at him thoughtfully.  
“All right, buddy?”  
“Ask me another time.” He shook his head, driving away the confusing thoughts of Leilani Shaw. “Is there something new?”  
“Not really. We just wanted to know if you come with us to Kamekona. It’s time for lunch.”  
“Thanks for the offer, but I'm not hungry.”  
“Our SEAL is not hungry? Oh man, you must have it bad.” Danny came in, closed the door behind him, and put his hands in the pocket. “What did Catherine really want from you?”  
“Listen, Danny, at some point I'll talk about it, but not today. Not as long as we're dealing with a madman, who seems to randomly murder women.”  
Danny nodded understandingly, took a deep breath and then grinned. “I'll remind you. But since you have mentioned the case, Fong has just reported. They have found skin under the fingernails of the victim, so they can start a DNA match. They've also put down the relaxant on a handful and think they'll find something final in the next few days.” He ran thoughtfully over his neck. “What else? Oh, an Andy has confirmed the alibi of Jennings.”  
“He was never really a suspect,” Steve admitted.  
“But we had to check it nonetheless,” the blond continued, “and as far as Miss Sullivan's phone calls are concerned, they did not really reveal much, even if we could filter out the number that called her last morning. We just have to find out who owns it.”  
Steve nodded, leaned back in his chair, and sighed. “I'm sorry. I'm somehow out of shape.”  
“Wait, please, what?” Danny pretended to have water in his ear. “Did our super-SEAL apologize to me? This day I have to paint myself red in the calendar,” he joked.  
“Very funny, Danno.”  
“Listen, Steven, each one of us has a bad day, and even though I do not know what Catherine had to say so important to you, it is more than clear that it took its toll on you. But as long as we don’t get again into some crazy shootout, you can be as distracted as you want. If you want to keep quiet about this, for my sake, and if you want to talk, then each one of us is there for you.”  
He turned and wanted to leave the office, when Steve, with an untypically low voice, stopped him. “Thanks man.”  
“At any time.” Danny left his boss alone with his thoughts and joined the others for lunch, but secretly himself questioning whether Catherine had really said what he was guessing and what Steve was thinking about this.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against Cath, but she doesn't fit in my plot and therefore she had to leave the scenery. ;)


	14. A new indication

 

Danny's question of what Steve was thinking about Catherine's behavior was easy to answer: He did not know what to think of it and was therefore frustrated and confused. He had tried several times to reach Catherine on her mobile, to get a clear answer from her, why she had separated from him, but was always directed directly to the mailbox. Although he had told Danny something else, but slowly got hungry, he decided spontaneously to go to the nearby HPD canteen and get something to eat there.  
But hardly had he settled down with a sandwich, a large mixed salad, and a bottle of water at one of the small tables, he began to regret his decision. There was a constant coming and going, not to mention the noise caused by dozens of conversations. Steve was sighing and wondering whether he should get his food wrapped up to get back into the silence of his office when the conversation of a group of women at the next table, which he could not see because of a large potted plant, attracted his attention.  
“If I tell you! I saw her storm out of the building this morning, and she did not look very happy.”  
“Well, I know from Kai, who got it from Mike, who heard from Stephan that the others were there today too.”  
“Are all your informants male?”  
“Well, somehow. So, do you want to hear what I know?”  
“Come on then.”  
“As I said, the others were there, too, and rumors said that it got quite hot between the two a few weeks ago. Maybe she's been watching something or went into something?”  
“Well”, a third female voice said, “I can’t imagine that they're doing something innuendo in their offices. Have you ever been up there? This is all glass. You can look everywhere.”  
Up to this time, Steve had thought that maybe a few secretaries would talk about a romance in the Governor's offices, because the canteen was not only for the HPD, but also for the state and city administration employees, but he knew all these offices and the only one that was completely glass built was that of Five-0.  
“Well, I know from her brother that she is not uninterested.”  
“When did you talk to Mr. Hot-and-Sexy?”  
“Oh, we happened to meet each other by chance.” A giggle broke out at the neighbor table. “As I said, she is not uninterested and we all know how he is. Perhaps this loose relationship was not enough for him, and he had presented the Rollins with fait accompli.”  
Steve shrugged. They talked about him! Perhaps that was the reason Cath had broken up with him? That she too thought he had something with Leilani? He slowly took a sip from his water and frowned. He would lie if he claimed that Leilani's good looks had not struck him from the start. Even the fact that he had deceived himself in her abilities was undeniable, as he now admitted. However, to directly assume something was simply ... well, completely absurd.  
Besides he loved Cath. He really did, but he also knew how he seemed for some people. Just because he had lived a rather volatile life until two years ago, some people might think that he was the same in relationships. Okay, yes, he often flirted and knew how to use his charm at the right time, but he was faithful in a firm relationship. To admit to him now that he had begun something with Leilani, or any other woman, was simply impertinent! He was about to turn around and tell the women at the next table what he thought when complete strangers talked about his alleged love life when a surprised voice stopped him: “Oh, hello Commander. You are really rare to be seen here.”  
He looked up and forced himself to smile at the young man, while suddenly a frightened silence reigned at the other table. Apparently, the women had only now noticed in what volume they had spoken and who had heard their conversation.  
“Aloha Max. Yeah, I know I'll be more at Kamekona’s or at the office, but I needed a bit of movement.”  
“Very understandable. I am standing at work most of the time, but you sit at the desk unless you are on a mission and then it is really good for the body to move from time to time.”  
“Don’t you want to sit down? And didn’t we agree that you could call me Steve?” Steve gestured to a chair on the other side of the table.  
“Well,” Max put his tray down, pulled the chair straight, and then sat, “that may well be, but when it comes to the job, I'd rather stay with Commander, if that's okay.”  
“The job?” Steve asked in astonishment, causing the young man to nod briefly, who then tried to distribute evenly the sauce on his noodles with a concentrated look. An almost impossible task, as Steve knew, the ratio between the amount of sauce and pasta in canteens was always unbalanced. Usually one had simply too little sauce available.  
“Yes”, Max said, realizing quickly that not every piece of pasta would come in the pleasure of being covered with bolognese. “I just finished the first investigation of Miss Sullivan, and I noticed something interesting.” The older one gestured with a hand to continue. “At first glance she really looked like Mrs. Wolfe and Miss McKegan, but then I noticed the marks.”  
"Marks?” Steve asked, confused.  
“I've found a hematoma around the puncture wound”, the young ME replied, as if it were self-evident what he meant.  
“That means, in general, that the handle of the weapon pressed into the surrounding skin shortly before death, right?” Steve tried to assure himself that his partial rudimentary knowledge about the physiology of humans really was true.  
“Exactly and because I do not find any wounds on the back of the young woman, I conclude that the blade is considerably shorter than hitherto thought. Maybe you're not looking for a Katana, but a Hamidashi.”  
“What?” Steve tilted his head, blinking in surprise. In this case, there was always something new around the next corner that confused him.  
“A Hamidashi”, Max began to explain. “This is a kind of Japanese dagger used by the samurai to set the death thrust, but also as a so-called helmet breaker. The blade varies greatly, as does with Katana, but it is never more than 30 centimeters long.”  
“Does that mean we've been looking for the wrong weapon all the time?” Steve exclaimed, horrified, watching the case go down the drain.  
“Not at all, Commander”, Max shook his head, “because the blade of a Hamidashi is as shaped as a Katana, but it is much shorter, which I think would make it easier to hide it. But most people who specialize in collecting Asian weapons also own one or the other _Tantō_. This is the catchword for Japanese combat knives”, the young man explained, as his opponent bowed an eyebrow questioningly.  
“Okay, thank you Max.” Steve got up and grabbed his tray, he had not yet touched the food on it, and since a few moments he had been more important things than the food intake. “I urgently need to go back to the office and adapt our search to the new information.”  
“Of course, Commander.” Max nodded slowly. “I hope you have success soon.”  
Steve turned to the tray return, giving the women at the next table a cool, disdainful look that made them flinch, then hurried back to the headquarters.

Danny and the others of Five-0 entered with a good mood the short hallway between their offices after lunch break. An encounter with Kamekona was always amusing. However, when they saw that their boss sat at his desk in seemingly unchanged attitude, the good mood disappeared very quickly.  
“Guys, I think I'll talk to our great master. He must finally understand that it does not go well to bottle up everything. Sometimes you have to talk about your problems, so they can be solved.” Danny nodded to his colleague and then crossed the room to tell his friend the proper opinion. But at that moment, Steve lifted his head from his computer, on which he had actually worked, saw them and gestured to wait for him because he would come at any moment.  
“Well, I met Max in the canteen earlier”, Steve started when he was with his colleagues.  
“I thought you weren’t hungry”, Danny interjected, granting him a serious look of blue eyes.  
“That does not matter. Much more important is what Max had to say. We've been looking for the wrong kind of weapon all the time; at least indirectly.”  
“What? Why?” Kono uttered out, looking confused. “Either Max or Charlie or Danny was sure that the shape of the wound canal correspond to a Katana.”  
“That's why I said indirectly. We are dealing with an Asian weapon, but with a combat knife rather than a sword.”  
Steve showed his team what Max had figured out and what he suspected of this realization.  
“Do we have to start a new search?” Kono looked discouraged. This case became more and more tricky.  
“Seems so”, Chin answered the question of his cousin, but Steve shook his head.  
“I think we were completely on the wrong track. I don’t think that we are dealing with a real collector, but simply with someone who has purchased one or two objects as a memento. What that means I don’t have to tell you.”  
The whole squad nodded. By this information, they simply had nothing to go on with their investigations, as long as the tests in the laboratory had not yet been completed.  
“What are we going to do now, Steve?”  
His team looked at him expectantly, but he shrugged. If he was honest, then he did not have the sense of an idea how it should go on.  
“You know what? Since we can do nothing more than wait, I would suggest that we’ll do our overtime account times a favor and make an early evening. We not make any headway until we hear something from the crime lab. So, go home, surf or whatever. Have a nice evening and tomorrow we'll see us again.” With this he turned around and disappeared into his office, leaving his colleagues in total surprise.  
“Did our dictator really send us home after only half a day?” Danny asked incredulously in the round, which was answered with a nod.  
“And before the boss turns his mind again, I'd better fly the coop”, Kono said with a wide grin, almost fleeing from the office; followed by Chin and Lori, who would not miss the opportunity of an early evening as well. Danny, however, looked thoughtfully through the glass walls in Steve's office and told himself that there was certainly not just this one reason for the early evening. But as Steve got out of his desk chair and seemed to be ready to go, the blond investigator turned to the exit. He would visit the dark-haired with a six-pack beer in the evening, taking him under verbal bombardment for a long time until he would come out with the truth.

 

“Kea?” Leilani stepped out over the porch into the garden, where her brother had made himself comfortable with his PSP on the lawn. He wiggled his foot to show her that he had heard her, but he was not able to interrupt his current game. Since she already knew about this behavior, she waited a few minutes until he had saved his score and looked up. “What’s up?” He asked.  
She stepped up to him, sat down in the grass and tugged a little around on the green. “I just got a message from Kono. There is obviously news about the case.”  
“And what?” He sat up and looked at her questioningly.  
“Apparently, the murder weapon is not a sword, but merely an Asian combat knife.”  
“So we're back at the beginning?” Her brother asked, disappointed.  
“Well, somehow, but on the other hand, the tox and DNA tests are still running. Perhaps the results will help us along. But until then, we will be able to deal with the normal stupidity on the base again.”  
She sighed frantically, causing Keanu to laugh aloud.  
“Come on, _kaikuahine_. In truth you will use the time to read, go back to surfing again, and to do some other sports like a maniac, now that you can do it again. Although I think you should use the opportunity for something else.”  
“Oh, and what do you think should I do?”  
“I think you should drive to Honolulu and talk to a certain ex-SEAL. I think, and I know you're doing it too, that he was left by his girlfriend. Your rule of not interfering with working relationships is therefore invalid.”  
“Yes, I believe Catherine has separated from Steve”, admitted Leilani. “But how he seemed to me, he was honestly hurt and to drive to him now would be even more half-assed. Besides, he was the one who did wrong this morning, so he has to apologize first.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked stubbornly at the sea that broke in gentle waves on the beach.  
“Listen, Lei, I want you to be happy and I know that Steve is right for you,” her brother tried to persuade her.  
“You're annoying, Kea!” She said angrily. “Just because you are in a functioning, happy relationship does not have to be the case for the others of us too!” She wanted to get up and stomp angry into the house when the next thing her brother said was holding her back. “I am not in a relationship.”  
“What? Why not?” She stopped moving and looked at him in astonishment. “The dates were great. At least you did tell that.”  
He sighed, plucked some blades of grass, then threw them away.  
“Listen, the next one you can’t say to anyone, especially not Five-0 and not to our superiors”, he said in a serious voice.  
“What's going on?” Her gaze was thoughtful and what she saw did not please her. She could not figure out what she saw in his face. “Kea, you're acting really strange.”  
“I ...” He took a deep breath and then looked sadly at his sister. “I knew Florence Sullivan, the last victim. She was the woman with whom I was out in the last few weeks. Even on the day of her death.”  
“What?” Leilani's voice changed to a higher pitch with astonishment. “You ... you were with her and didn’t say it? Damn it, Keanu! It may well be that our murderer has watched you both and has waited for you to say good-bye to each other. You can’t withhold this information!”  
“But”, he shrugged, “if I had told you, then you would have had to withdraw me from the case because I am personally involved and I didn’t want that. I wanted to find Florence's murderer, still want it. I'm going to take the crap behind bars.”  
“Where were you yesterday?” She asked trying to remain calm, because she understood him. Understood why he had said nothing. She would probably have acted similarly.  
“At _Haleiwa Joe's_ in Haleiwa”, he replied.  
Leilani thought for a moment. “And she was found at Waialua Bay. So I guess her murderer really watched you and then followed her.” She stood up and turned to the house.  
“Where are you going?” There was a harsh tone in her brother's voice that made her look back in surprise.  
“I will try to get surveillance recordings from the area. Since I know when you were around and know the time of death, I can scan the recordings for something suspicious.”  
He jumped up and stepped in her way. “You will not say a word, understood?”  
She folded her arms across her chest. Somehow, although he was her brother, she felt more than uncomfortable. Couldn’t he guess that she was not going to say anything? That she could understand his reasons?  
“I will not say a word to Five-0 as long as I can avoid it. But if they ask me how I got the information I probably can get from the recordings, I won’t lie. I know why you didn’t say anything. I even understand it, but I won’t lie.”  
She frowned as she could not read on his face what he was thinking. As he nodded slowly, she was relieved. Somehow she had the feeling that since their move to O'ahu everything had changed; her brother, too. But maybe it was just the loss of his girlfriend? She shrugged her shoulders internally, then turned around and went into the house to have a look at the surveillance cameras from the office.

Keanu looked thoughtfully after his sister. Apparently he had deceived himself. He'd thought he'd have more time; time to clarify everything without anyone connecting him to Florence. But apparently he had underestimated his sister and if that happened with a person whom he could actually read like an open book, what would McGarrett and Five-0 find out? The young agent turned and looked out at the darkened sea. Apparently, his time was running out. If his superiors learned what he had done, he would be done. He had to make sure that it never came to light.  
As one of the windows in the house lit, he frowned angrily. His sister would be doing what she had announced. So his only opportunity would be to drive to the base and try from there to get faster into the recordings and destroy any little bit visual material, on which he was to be seen. But he also knew that would cause him even more problems, because after all, Leilani knew about him and Florence and if he would not be seen anywhere, it would be more than unfavorable. He dropped back on the lawn and sighed. Apparently, he had no choice but to sit the whole thing out.

On the other side of the island, another investigator had made himself comfortable in his garden. His mood was like Keanu’s. He was frustrated, sad, and also a little angry. Apart from a small part of the frustration, which led to the fact that they did not get any further in the case, all these emotions were related to one person. Beside him, on the small white metal table with its curved legs, which had already belonged to his grandmother, lay his black smartphone. At last, after seemingly countless attempts, he had been able to reach Catherine. He had tried to talk to her, asked her to give him a chance to explain why she really thought that their relationship had no longer a chance. Her response had made him feel a bit stifled, thrown him out of the way even more than the actual break up.  
_“Listen, Steve,” she had said, “I really like you, but I know you would have broken up with me in the not-too-distant future. How do I know? The explanation is simple and I have already given it to you this morning. I think you've met someone who wants and expects the same from life like you and I will definitely not look at how you figure it out yourself, and secretly drool over each other the whole time. I really not have that masochistic bent.”_  
_He had tiredly wiped over his forehead and had asked for another explanation. Had asked Catherine to tell him who she was thinking would have feelings for him. If she had answered Lori or Kono, he could have laughed and would been able to ask the young woman to think about it again. But she had only sighed and meant that he had to find out for himself. Then she had simply hung up and left him more confused than before. Whom could Cath mean? Who had allegedly entered his life? Who…_  
“Hey buddy”, the rattling of glass bottles, which were clapped to one another, tore him out of his gloomy thoughts, “desire for a beer?”  
Danny had completely unnoticed entered the house, gone through it, and finally got out onto the terrace.  
“Hey Danno, didn’t hear you coming.”  
“Then you have to have it really bad,” said the blond, dropped to one of the bright wooden chairs and took one of the bottles from the six-pack which he had brought with him. “Help yourself! I still owe you this one from the last football betting. So what's going on with you today? You're right aside the track.”  
“I'm not at all”, Steve tried to defend, but was only acknowledged with a snort.  
“Oh, my friend, you are. The whole cheerleader team of the Rainbow Warriors could have danced through the garden in bikinis and you would not have noticed. So, what's up?”  
“Nothing important”, waved the black-haired, but his voice made clear that his mood was at rock bottom.  
“Don’t give me that, Steven. This morning, I said I would not mind if you were not completely by the case, but the fact is, I'm afraid of being you so completely lost in thoughts. You're no longer the ninja-SEAL I hate from the bottom of my heart and would like to shoot on the moon”, he winked.  
“Love you too, Danno”, Steve said with a crooked grin, knowing exactly how hard it was for the blond to talk about what he was feeling. Even if his mouth didn’t have the habit to stand still, about emotions and what really bothers them they both did not particularly like to talk about. But sometimes it simply had to be. In this case, they’re sitting on the edge of the sea, looking out on the water with a bottle of beer and pretending that no one could listen what they’re talking about. This course of action was ever enough, but today, Steve knew, would that not help him. He urgently needed the advice of a friend. So he took a bottle from the cardboard box, opened it and took a deep breath. “I know that I did not behave like myself today,” he began cautiously searching for words.  
“That's probably true”, Danny smirked. “We were neither been shot nor blown up. So you have to be really sick, or ...”  
“Cath has broken up with me”, he was instantly interrupted by the dark-haired, which made him look up shocked.  
“What?”  
Steve nodded and then took a sip of the drink. “This morning, when she came to the office. She said she didn’t want the same thing as me, and that at one point what we had would not be enough for me.”  
“I thought so”, Danny said with a serenity that brought him a confused look from Steve. “Not about the break-up, but that you want different things. You are a family man who should have a whole stable full of children from a woman who loves you and accepts all your quirks and oddities. But Cath? She aims high in the Navy and that does not fit your desire for a family.”  
“But”, Steve looked surprised, “couldn’t she have told me it that way? Then we could try to find a solution.”  
“Steven, there's no solution for that, except Cath’s,” Danny tried to make clear to his friend, whose sad expression was hard to bear.  
“But she could have just said: Listen, Steve, I just can’t see myself as a wife and mother. Instead, she comes with such a lukewarm explanation. She said she wouldn’t wait for me to break up with her when the one who had entered my life gets aware of her feelings for me,” he got more and more annoyed.  
“That's what she said?” Danny asked with big eyes, confirmed by Steve’s nodding.  
„But I have no idea who she might mean.”  
“Oh man”, Danny stood up, leaned against the railings of the terrace and looked out into the dark garden, “you really don’t understand it, do you? How can you just see a tripwire in the semi-dark rainforest without problems, but be in such a thing completely blind?”  
“What the hell do you mean, Danny?” Steve muttered as he rose, standing beside his friend and looking at him in surprise.  
“We all see it, my friend. We see it and somehow we are happy about it because we know you. We know your dreams and desires and all knew that you would never have that with Cath. Since we really like her, we never said anything, but now ...” the blond investigator hesitated a little. “I have been talking to the others in the last few days and they agree with me. This one of whom Catherine was speaking is a person you've been clashing with in the last few weeks.”  
“Well, I think you were all too long in the sun. Me and her? No way! This is absolutely and completely absurd.” Steve's face seemed to derail as soon as he realized to whom Danny was referring.  
“Absurd or not, we all see the sparks fly between you, only she is way too decent to try something during a functioning, happy relationship. I think if Cath had not taken the decisive step, then Leilani and you would forever dance around each other and never open your mouths.” He thought for a moment. “But I think you will not believe me and you will still need years to finally understand what is going on in front of your nose.”  
“This is madness”, Steve said vehemently, trying to silence the little voice that wanted to made him realize Danny was right. “Absolutely impossible madness!”  
“If one can exclude the impossible, what is left is probably the truth. Even if you do not believe it”, Danny answered dryly, put his beer bottle on the small table and went towards the terrace door. “I will leave you alone with your thoughts now. But before I forget, we have an appointment with Dr. Cunningham tomorrow morning.”  
Steve was not able to ask his partner what exactly this meant; the blond had already said good-bye with a waving hand and left a more than confused ex-SEAL.  
He and Leilani Shaw? What a joke! Perhaps he should use tomorrow's trip to the HG to force his team to undergo a thorough health check, because he had the presumption that they had all received a violent sunstroke.

 

The next morning after a night with not enough sleep and therefore in a bad mood Steve stepped out of his car in front of the HG. After Danny had left him the night before, he'd been standing on the terrace for a while, looking out into the garden, and thinking. He and Leilani? That was completely crazy. Apart from the fact that he did not believe the young agent really felt as much for him as Danny had suggested, the idea of them as a couple was completely idiotic. They would probably get each other into a high-security psychiatric ward or be the death to each other in the shortest possible time.  
Controlling the seat of the gun and the badge, he winced as the little voice which had kept him awake all night inside him announced itself again; the small voice, which told him that he was only fooling himself.  
When a red car came to a halt just before his feet, Steve was torn from his gloomy thoughts. Hands buried deep in the pockets of his usual cargo pants, he looked seriously at Kono and Lori, who had come together.  
“Oh, oh,” Kono said softly to her friend when she noticed the posture of her boss. “Got he out of the wrong side of bed?”  
The blonde profiler looked at her boss thoughtfully and had to agree with the young Hawaiian. Steve to be really relaxed happened only in special cases, e.g. when they were sitting together in the bar of the Hilton Hawaiian Village or at one of their homes and have a cozy evening. But during the day, the ex-SEAL seemed to be a live wire. While Danny's mouth seemed never to stand still, Steve always needed movement and excitement, otherwise he would be more than unpalatable; like now. For some unfathomable reason, the dark-haired had already built up this inner tension early in the morning, for which Lori suggested he had slept badly during the night.  
“You are too late”, they were greeted by him in a tone that caused Kono to cover inwardly, but Lori brought herself in defense position. It was not often that she disagreed with her boss, but now and then he simply needed to be told that he was going too far.  
“We are not. Danny said at eight in front of the Honolulu General and now it is”, she threw an exaggerated clear look at her watch, “one minute after eight. So, whoever was responsible for the circumstance that in your world DEFCON 2 is declared, give them a dressing-down and not us, because we didn’t do anything to you”, she said coolly.  
“Oh no?” He wanted to start to vent his bad mood on them, but was interrupted by the arrival of the two still missing Five-0 members.  
“Just for your information”, Lori said to the two men, “Steve is unbearable this morning.”  
This one growled softly in her direction that she should keep her opinion to herself what let Danny suspect that his partner had thought about what he had told him last night.  
“So what is?” The detective tried a less risky subject. “Shall we try to get a doctor’s secrets out of him?”  
The others nodded mutely, knowing that this day would not be a very pleasant one.

 

“Keanu?” With cautious steps Leilani went to her brother, who was still sitting at the kitchen counter and seemed busy with the contents of the morning newspaper.  
“What’s up?” She sighed because of his sullen tone. Apparently his bad mood from the evening before had not disappeared, which could only mean that they would probably have a fight in the course of the day.  
“Apparently there were several stolen or broken cars in the parking lot of Waialua Bay in the last months, which is why some surveillance cameras have been installed there. I'm still looking at all the tapes, but on one you can see a young woman who left the beach quite fast. So maybe there's a witness.” She looked at him with a slight smile, perhaps this partly good news would lead to raise his state of mind.  
He took his eyes from the newspaper and fixed her with his dark brown eyes. “Is her face to be recognized?”  
His sister shook her head regretfully. “Not yet. But since Abby complained about her boredom by mail, I wanted to send her the relevant pictures. Maybe she can do a bit of magic and then we get something that we can run through facial recognition.”  
Her brother nodded and then turned back to his newspaper. As Keanu’s bad mood began to beat down her own, she sat opposite him and took his hand.  
“Listen, Kea, I just wanted to tell you that I'm very sorry. I would have liked to get to know Florence. What you've said sounds like she's really nice”, she said, soothingly.  
“She was”, he replied softly. “You two would have got along very well.”  
When her mobile, which she had laid on the table before breakfast, announced an incoming SMS, she reached for it and read the message frowning.  
“Did you know that Five-0 wanted to go to the HG today to question Doc Cunningham?” She asked Keanu, who had closely watched her reaction.  
“I had no idea.” He frowned. “How do you know about it?”  
“The SMS came from the Doc. He wrote that he already understood that I did not want to go out with him. I don’t have to call out Five-0 on him.”  
“I didn’t know you were still in contact.” He was amazed that his sister had withheld this news from him, but the young agent shook her head.  
“We don’t really do that either. I told him, shortly after our aunt's birthday, that he didn’t have to have any hope. Afterwards, he called me from time to time to ask how the healing process is going on.”  
“Oh, I understand.” An oblique smile flashed on Keanu's face. “How can you just let a doctor slip through your finger? Cousin Betty-Jo would be so disappointed with you.”  
Leilani laughed as her brother mentioned the only daughter of her father's older sister. She was already fifty, lived with her felt one hundred cats in Alabama, and lamented to her kinship, whether they wanted to hear it or not, that for a woman there was only one goal in life and that was one well-earned man and, if possible, to keep him forever; something that she herself had not succeeded.  
“Oh, the good Betty-Jo,” Leilani said sadly, “we'll never be able to meet their expectations. But still, I wonder what Five-0 wants from the Doc.”  
Her brother shrugged and hided himself again behind his newspaper, which made Leilani sigh softly. Apparently he was not so easy to cheer today. In view of the circumstances, however, this was quite understandable; after all he had to learn only one day before that his girlfriend had been murdered.

 

The young man groaned as he saw how the leader of Five-0, accompanied by his whole team, came nearer with far-reaching steps. He reached into the deep pockets of his white coat and took out his cell phone.  
_“I got it,”_ he wrote with quick fingers. _“You don’t want to go out with me, Agent Shaw, but just because I was a bit stubborn, you didn’t have to send directly the entire Governor's task force to convince me.”_  
He sent the message at exactly the moment the five investigators reached him.  
“Good morning,” he said, trying to keep a friendly face, which was not so easy at the sight of Steve McGarrett and his sour expression. “What can I do for you?”  
Before the black-haired could say something, his partner interfered: “We would have some questions for you. Is there a place where we can talk undisturbed?”  
Dr. Cunningham frowned, then nodded. “The break room should be free, along here.”  
He led Five-0 to a plain, square room at the end of the hall, where several tables and a small kitchen row were more or less badly placed. “So, what does give me the honor to see me visited by the Governor's entire task force so early in the morning?” The Doc asked Five-0.  
Again Danny beat Steve with his answer, “You can tell us how you interrelate to Florence Sullivan.”  
The doctor laughed mockingly. “What did the little crazy do now?”  
“You don’t seem particularly enthusiastic about Miss Sullivan,” Lori guessed, as she sat down on one of the chairs and apart from Steve the others did the same. He preferred to stand with his arms crossed, and glanced darkly from his blue eyes.  
“Oh, I have an excellent opinion about Florence, especially about her professional abilities, but everything else? Let's just say she always manages to find the most rotten egg in the basket,” the doctor said vaguely.  
“What do you mean by that?” Danny asked, who had decided to completely ignore his partner's bad mood, which was probably the best for all.  
“Florence and I met about three years ago. On the one hand, she had come to Hawaii to spend her holidays here, but also because there was a congress in which she and I participated. She caught my interest because ... well, she's Florence. Who would not notice these legs? Anyway, we started to talk, but were interrupted again and again by her ringing mobile. She pressed the caller away constantly, but at some point she was quite annoyed and finally accepted the call. She did not seem particularly enthusiastic.”  
“After three years, you still know that so clearly?” Danny asked in astonishment.  
“I remember everything that has to do with Florence,” the red-haired told boastful, and somehow, especially with Lori and Kono, he lost a few sympathy points.  
“How did it go from there?” Steve interfered for the first time in the conversation.  
“Well, after the congress, we stayed in touch, even went out together a couple of times, but it don’t turned out to be something serious. But when I heard that she is going to stay in Hawaii, I was relieved. Because honestly, how often do you meet here a sexy woman with Irish ancestors who even knows how to live in the coolest city in the world?”  
“Which should that be?” Kono paused, while her cousin had decided to keep out of the questionnaire completely and write instead everything down.  
“New York City, of course. What did you think?”  
“You're from New York?” Danny asked.  
Dr. Cunningham nodded. “You, Detective, look more like someone from Jersey by your appearance and your slight accent.”  
“And is that bad?” Snapped Danny insulted, ready to defend his beloved Jersey at any time.  
“No, not at all,” the redhead said exasperatedly. “After all, you're looking at the best in the world.”  
“If you're so enthusiastic about New York,” Lori intervened, fearing that not only Steve but Danny also would become quite indignant when they would not return to the actual subject, “why did you move to Hawaii?”  
“I felt like many others. I was on holiday here; I fell in love with the island and the people and just stayed. Fortunately, good doctors are always needed. That's what I said to Florence, and she fortunately listened to me.”  
“Is this the reason why you have sent Mr. Jennings to her to monitor his rehab?”  
“Whom?” Kono got a confused reply. “Listen, I maybe have pushed some clients over to Florence, just because I hoped she would succeed and stay here. What she did, and who knows maybe someday we will start something again; now that I have no more chances with the sweet agent.”  
Chin noticed Steve stiffening and then saying, “What do you mean by that?”  
“She declined my invitations. At first I thought she'd sent you just because I was a little more stubborn about asking for a date, but let's be honest, some women just need a little more clarity.”  
“Did you get up this morning with the desire to become the main suspect in our murder investigation?” was Steve’s coldly question.  
“What? Murder?” The young doctor looked honestly confused, but the team only responded with muttered dull nods, cold looks, annoyed rolled eyeballs, an uncomfortable grip on a forehead, and Danny even stuck the nostrils between thumb and index finger. “Whom shall I have murdered?”  
“Florence Sullivan,” the head of Five-0 told him. “Didn’t she either understand what you wanted from her and needed it a bit more clear?”  
“Woaw, Commander.” Cunningham raised his hands in defense. “I didn’t do anything to Florence. I couldn’t. After we knew each other for a while, we were both like family to the other. There was nothing between us at all, even if I hoped at first that this would change. But I really could not kill anyone. I'm a doctor, for fucks sake!”  
“And as such, you certainly have easy access to medium length-acting muscle relaxants?” Presumed Steve, in his attitude still unchanged.  
“Of course I have access. We use it in emergency medicine, for example, when we have to put a tube.”  
“You'd better have said no, Doc,” responded Danny sarcastically. “Because with this statement, you have really catapulted yourself to the top of our list of suspects.”  
“Hey!” The doctor stood up and put his hands indignantly on his hips. “Should I have lied? Every doctor, nurse, orderly and who knows how many people else have access to these resources. Just because I knew Florence does not mean that I killed her. She was like a sister to me.”  
“Do you know the names Margaret Wolfe and Jennifer McKegan?” Lori asked who could not help but somehow she believed Cunningham.  
“No. Who is that?”  
“Two other victims,” the blonde replied.  
“Shouldn’t you then ... no idea ... question suspects?”  
“We are,” Danny replied. “We're talking to you.”  
“I didn’t do anything!” The doctor exclaimed indignantly.  
“Well, then it wouldn’t be a problem to tell us where you were on the following days.” Chin told him the data of the murders of the two other women.  
“I'd have to check up on my calendar in the doctor's room,” Cunningham replied irritably.  
“Do that. Chin, you accompany the good doctor,” Steve ordered.

The four remaining members of Five-0 looked at each other thoughtfully as Chin left the room with Dr. Cunningham.  
“And what do you think?” Kono was the first to speak.  
“I think the good Doc has a somewhat wrong attitude to women,” Danny said, “but unfortunately I believe that he has not killed Florence or any of the other women. He seemed really shocked about the news.”  
“I think so, too,” Lori said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “Doctor Cunningham obviously has a little personality disorder, but I do not think we can keep him as a suspect.”  
“So we're back at zero,” Steve grumbled, but the others just shrugged. What should they answer? To them all, the situation was more than clear. If the DNA comparison did not make a difference, then they would really have to put the case down until the next corpse appeared.  
“Guys, we can go,” announced Chin, who entered the break room again. “I've got everything we need.”  
“Where's the Doc?” Steve asked.  
“Was called to a patient. Don’t worry, Boss, he knows he should not leave the island until we say something else.”  
“So off to headquarters, hoping that the crime lab had found something?”  
“What else is left,” Danny replied to Kono's question.  
When the five went to the parking lot and then set off in their cars, part of the team questioned what Leilani would think of the fact that Five-0 had once again set off alone.

 

“Oh, oh,” Danny whispered as they entered the headquarters, and Leilani Shaw was there, waiting for them and tapping an irregular stroke on the wooden surrounding of the touchscreen. “That can’t end well.”  
Visible trying to keep calm the young agent straightened up, after she had noticed the arrival of the other investigators.  
“When did you want to tell us that you thought of Doc Cunningham as a suspect?” She asked sharply.  
“We don’t have to keep you up to date on every step in our investigation,” Steve took the chance to let off a little steam, and who was better for this than the person because of whom he had an absolutely bad night?  
“Oh no?” a dangerous glitter appeared in Leilani's eyes, which made Danny, Chin, Kono and Lori flinch; even if the brunette visibly tried to preserve the calm. “I thought we had agreed to work together in this case, and that means that we were told about the possible suspects,” she snapped.  
“I thought it would be best to say nothing, after all, you're personally involved,” countered her counterpart.  
“Personally involved? How? Because the doc flirted with me? Come on, Steve, to hear something like this from someone from Five-0, is really more than hypocritical. Weren’t you personally affected when it was about Victor Hesse? Or Chin when he's covered his cousin, or ... You know I could go on forever, but it won’t go anywhere, because then I could even talk to a wall. That has more understanding than you do when you’re obsessed with something.”  
Danny tried to camouflage his laughter by a cough attack, because Leilani was really right. Steve sometimes brought the concept of stubbornness to a new level. The rest of the team also arduously repressed their smiles.  
“Did you only come here to start an argument with me, or do you have any meaningful to say?” The dark-haired brushed angrily at her.  
“Did the Doc have anything important to say?” She did not go into Steve's provocation at all.  
“He knew Florence. They were quasi-workmates, but that's all,” Danny replied.  
“Okay, that’s a shame, but hey I wouldn’t have believed him capable of murder.” Leilani shrugged.  
“It was clear you said that,” Steve said aggressively, but she decided to ignore it. Instead, she preferred to tell the others what information she and her brother had received in the last hours.  
“I really wanted to keep you from the fact that we found someone who quickly walked away from the beach where we found Florence. But since the recording still needs to be processed, unfortunately, no face can be seen. I also didn’t want to tell you that I sent this recording to the NCIS headquarters, so that the technician there can see if she gets it edited. That means we may have a witness for the last murder. But I really shouldn’t tell you that, because what does it say so wonderful? To give tit for tat? But I have my sunny day today, so you are allowed to remember what I’ve just said.” She turned to the exit with a mocking smile and then said, “I wish you much fun with Mr. Miserable-git.”

 

When Keanu entered their office rooms on the base, he frowned confused. His sister had clearly left before him. Therefore she must have been here for a long time and brooded over something. Since this was obviously not so, he put his backpack off, went to the kitchen and cooked a coffee which one could drink. Back in the office he started his computer and looked into the various mail programs. Both in the business and private mailbox he had a message from Abby, which was also addressed to his sister. He quickly flew over the text and his face brightened delightedly. Abby had not only had success with the picture, no, because boredom she had even directly started the screening and made a hit. Finally, there was a clue, a reference to the person who had observed the murder of Florence.

 


	15. Loss, feels, guilt

 

“Hey brah, already here?”  
When Keanu entered the office this time, his sister was already waiting for him, the obligatory cup of coffee on the table.  
“I was even here before you,” he defended himself. “But after reading Abby's e-mail, I had to check something.”  
“E-mail?” Quickly Leilani looked into her mailboxes. “Really? And why didn’t I get anything.”  
“Not?” He dropped into his chair and leaned back. Somehow he enjoyed to have an information leap in front of his sister for once. “This is strange, because you were also a receiver, it must have somehow been stuck.” He ran over the forearm, where the scratches still itched softly. “But I can also tell you what was in it. Abby had success regarding the surveillance footage. She was able to edit it so much that she could start a facial comparison. The witness is called Clarissa Daniels, 23, in the last semester at the local university and resident in Waipahu.”  
“Then let’s go!” Leilani wanted to jump up, but was stopped by her brother.  
“Hold your horses, Lei. This is the reason why I was not here. I tried to reach her but ended up on the mailbox again and again. Maybe she is in a seminar or something. We can try again this evening. Until then, we still have enough paperwork to deal with because of the smaller cases.”  
“Speaking of smaller cases,” the brunette said, remembering something after that cue. “Granger called while I was on my way. The JAGs have finally agreed about Gunnery Sergeant Wolfe.”  
“And what waits for the poor fellow?” The male Shaw straightened up and looked at her with interest.  
“Early retirement on half pay,” said Leilani without any emotion in the voice.  
“The half? This is not really much,” Keanu noted, but his sister's only shrug.  
“Still better than nothing. In addition, he can now finally fly to L.A. and look after his daughter. I know that’s little consolation, but ... “  
“But it could have been much worse, I know,” Keanu agreed. “Then let's get to the paperwork so that the Gunny can book the next plane to the mainland.”  
The young woman nodded and together they dug through the mountain of files which had been – completely incomprehensible for them – formed in the last few weeks.

 

“Aloha Steve.” The young scientist waved to the dark haired via the webcam. Somehow, the leader of Five-0 was glad that Charlie had returned to his old habits of contact. For he still refused strictly to speak with Leilani, even though it was probably necessary since his behavior had been anything but correct. But just because he had accepted his mistake, did not mean that he was ready to talk to the young agent again.  
“What do you have for us, Charlie?” Steve inquired.  
“Finally good news. We were able to determine the relaxant more precisely. It is a compound called Vecuronium. It is, as already suspected, a medium-length muscle relaxant. But since we now know what you need to look for, you can perhaps find out more quickly who has access to it.”  
“And what about the DNA?” Lori asked curiously, who had joined Steve with the others.  
“In the local databases we can’t find anything, so we are now searching nationwide. But we can for certain say that your perpetrator is a man.”  
“We've already thought that,” Danny noted, but was interrupted by Chin before he could start with a scolding: “But now we have the confirmation. Thank you, Charlie.”  
This nodded and then ended the connection. Steve turned to his team.  
“Lori, you'll rework the profile along with Chin and Kono. See if you can start something with the new info. Danny, try to find out who has access to the remedy and how to get it.”  
“And what are you going to do?” His partner asked interested, which caused the dark-haired to take a deep breath. “I'll make a more than unpleasant phone call.” He went to his office and closed the door behind him.  
“What did he mean?” Asked Chin irritated.  
“Simply,” Danny smirked, “he'll talk to the Shaws to share the news and maybe find out if there's anything new about the surveillance recordings. Steve is still quarreled with Leilani, so one of them has to apologize. Whether our Super-SEAL will be it? I dare to doubt that.”

 

Pulled out of concentration by the ringing of her mobile, Leilani frowned, even deepened it when she saw when she saw who the caller was. She sighed, knowing this conversation might be quite unpleasant.  
“Good morning, Commander. What can us tiny persons of NCIS do for you today?” She said endeavored to be politely.  
She put her mobile phone on speaker, so her brother could also follow the conversation.  
“Agent Shaw,” Steve replied in the same tone, “is your brother there too?”  
“Morning Steve,” came it from Keanu, who did not even think about following his sister’s childish knick-knacks. “What’s up?”  
“It looks like this: the crime lab has finally been able to determine the relaxant. A remedy called Vecuronium. My people are just trying to find out who has access to it. In addition, there were no hits for the DNA in the local databases, which is why it is now being searched nationwide. But it could be confirmed at least that we were right with our first assessment concerning the sex of the perpetrator.”  
“Thanks for the update” Leilani’s response was honest, who had beforehand suspected that Steve's mood towards her had still not improved. “Is there anything else?”  
“Well,” he said hesitantly from the other end of the line, “I was going to ask you if you had anything new to know about the witness.”  
“We have a name,” Keanu confirmed. “Clarissa Daniels, student at the local university. We haven’t reached her yet. I think she is still in some seminars. We wanted to try again tonight.”  
“Okay, it would be nice, if you inform us then.” The elderly hesitated again. “Leilani, I would like to discuss something with you.”  
She frowned again, then waved her hand to make her brother understand that he had to disappear, after she had deactivated the speaker from her mobile and took it from the table, she held it to her ear.  
“What is it, Steve?” She didn’t let any of her emotional excitements be shown, because she did not even vaguely know what the other could want from her. After all, everything was said; or not?  
“Listen, I wanted to apologize to you. I know I didn’t behave quite correctly yesterday, and I did not inform you of our visit to Doc Cunningham, which was not correct. I was just in a very bad mood.”  
“That’s obvious”, she replied much more friendly, so Steve thought he could see her smile. She hadn’t thought Steve would be able to apologize; especially to her. “But every one of us has a bad day. One should only try not to vent it to others,” she told him a trace more cheeky.  
“Well, and that's my problem,” he admitted honestly. “Am I in a bad mood, then I'll thrash around; in the transposed and literal sense.”  
“Then I can be glad that I only got the verbal attack,” she replied teasingly. Even if she did not mind to go with him on the mat, she thought to herself and had to bite her tongue, not to say it aloud.  
“As I said, I'm sorry,” Steve repeated.  
She could hear that he was really serious and probably only dared because of that to speak to him again on the delicate subject that led to the disagreement the previous day. “Also at the risk that I will hear from you again, that I should take care of my own stuff. What's the matter with you?”  
When he did not answer, she thought she had kicked off the shaky legs of the peace they had just entered between them, but then Steve's answer came: “Cath has broken up with me. I am still trying to understand the reasons.”  
“Did she say why?” The brunette asked, receiving a quiet answer: “Yes.”  
“And?” Asked the young agent, who was glad about the fact that Steve was really solo again, because of the feelings she had for him, but on the other hand she just felt sorry for him. To be left always hurt.  
“You know what, Leilani? Maybe I'll give you the answer someday, but not today.” Steve's voice had almost resumed its normal, sonorous sound, even if it was still to be noted that the topic was still on his mind.  
“Okay,” she said quickly, not wanting to risk the black-haired getting angry again. “So, when we talked to the witness, I'll call,” she promised.  
She wanted to hang up when Steve had still something to say: “Listen, I would understand if you or your brother did not want to come, but Five-0 meets regularly at one of us for a cozy barbecue evening. Tomorrow I have the whole gang with me and if you like, you can come by.”  
“Tomorrow?” She asked in astonishment. She had memorized his file by heart as often as she had read it, hoping to find a plausible explanation for his behavior. So she knew exactly that the 10th of March was his birthday and that was the following day.  
“As I said only if you want.” Did Steve really sound shy? She asked herself, but was happy at the same time about the unexpected invitation.  
“Well, I can’t talk for ole Kea, but I like to come.”  
“Good.” Now he sounded relieved, which confused Leilani even more. “We'll see us tomorrow; or sooner, if you should get to know something.”  
She nodded, then took leave of the black-haired man and hung up.  
Still confused by the end of the phone call, she stared at her screen without really seeing anything when her brother returned to the office.  
“Okay,” he pulled his chair next to her, dropped on it, and looked anxiously at her, “what did Steve say that you were so completely lost in thoughts? Please don’t tell me that I need to make an anxious brother and defend your honor; because honestly, I would be very reluctant to kill Steve.”  
She grinned obliquely. The encounter ex-SEAL against ex-Marine would certainly be interesting to pursue, but in this case not necessary.  
“Nothing bad, Kea, no panic. Steve just apologized and invited us for tomorrow.”  
“Moment, tomorrow? Isn’t this his birthday?” Keanu’s astonishment was clearly to be heard. Because even if he had nothing against Five-0 in general and Steve in particular, their relationship was still not so tight that he would have expected an invitation to a party.  
“Yes,” confirmed his sister, “and now I'm wondering if he did mind it, or not. Does he expect any gifts or is he like our dad, who thinks it is just a day like every else and that one should not make such a whirl?”  
Keanu nodded thoughtfully and rolled with his chair back to his place. Apparently there was no reason for over-solicitude. “What exactly did he say?”  
“That Five-0 would meet regularly and tomorrow they would all be with him.”  
“So he did not mention a word that it’s his birthday?”  
“Not even a syllable.” She ran frustrated over her hair. “Why can’t the guy even once express himself clearly? You could get insane!”  
“Before you get upset, it would be the easiest you call Kono or one of the others and ask them if they see it as a birthday party, or just as a cozy get-together. Then you know what awaits you.”  
“Kea,” she looked up and grinned, “sometimes you have really good ideas.”

 

“Hey Kono,” Leilani greeted as she heard how on the other side of the line was taken off.  
“Leilani, hey. Can I help you? I thought Steve had already brought you up to date with the investigation?”  
“He did,” Leilani answered. “I'm calling for another reason.”  
“And what?” Asked the young Hawaiian interested.  
“Steve has invited Kea and me for tomorrow.”  
“Really?” Kono drew the word exaggeratedly into the length and Leilani could imagine a smirking grin playing around the mouth of the younger woman.  
“Yeah, really, and because I know it’s Steve's birthday, I wanted to ask if you planned anything.”  
“Oh, just the usual,” Kono replied, laughing. “A crème cake with salt glaze and silly sayings.”  
“So no presents or something?” She asked.  
“God forbid! Steve would kill us with it,” Kono replied, laughing.  
“So I thought, but I just wanted to be sure.” Still grinning the young agent went to look at her brother after she had said good-bye to Kono. “Kono says it's just a cozy evening.”  
Instead of responding to his sister's statement, Keanu uttered a breath. He had also had his phone in his hand, but his call had not been as successful as his sister's.  
“I still can’t reach Miss Daniels.”  
“Wait a minute,” Leilani sat up, “isn’t already spring break? What if she is away?”  
“Oh, and where?” Her brother asked doubtfully. “If you go on the Spring Break, then either to Mexico, Florida, California or Hawaii. So, why would you want to get away from here?”  
“Right.” Leilani nibbled at her lower lip. “Let's assume that she stayed in Hawaii. Does she live with someone?”  
Keanu searched in his papers to find a note he had made earlier in the day. “Yes, with a fellow student,” he confirmed when he had found the document.  
“Then we try to reach that,” suggested Leilani, but only reaped a headshake.  
“Already done, I spoke to her earlier. She could not tell me anything more, since she is still visiting her family on the mainland. But her return will be a bit later today.”  
“So not all students spend their holidays in Hawaii or the warmth,” teased Leilani, but then leaned back thoughtfully. “Okay, let's assume that Miss Daniels is one of the students who party hard during these two weeks, so we will not have a chance to reach her tonight. So I would suggest that we take advantage of the fact of not being responsible to anyone and finishing now today’s work.”  
“Are you sure?” Her brother asked and received approval.  
“We really have enough overtime to allow it, and I think the director will not mind if we just go earlier, instead of leaving it to the end of the year and then want to be paid for our overtime.“ Leilani had leaned forward, and while she spoke her gaze fixed firmly on her brother. This put the forehead into thoughtful folds. His sister was right. Overtime, as inevitable as it was, Director Vance did not like to see at all, as it meant to him that nearly every NCIS employee came at the end of the year with the demand to get it paid out. So if two or more agents managed to take time off by using these hours, he would be more than pleased.  
Besides, the young agent thought, this would give him the opportunity to look after some things. Things that he had grinded, which he had regarded as not so important, but now demanded his full attention. So he looked at his sister with a grin on his face.  
“All right, let's go.”  
They happily logged out the various systems, shut the computers down, and left the building together, only to drive their cars in different directions. Leilani turned to the east, heading for Kailua, with the plan to have a cozy evening on the sofa after she had been swimming for another round. Her brother, on the other hand, preferred to head south to Honolulu. He needed something that distracted him, now that he had lost Florence, and his sister went to the bottom of her own thoughts and feelings.

 

As the smartphone he had been laying on his bedside table rang he reached for it without opening his eyes and accepted the call.  
“Yeah, what?” He muttered, not yet really awake, because the night before had been again interrupted with confused thoughts and even more confusing dreams.  
“Good Morning Sunshine.”  
“Danny, what's going on and why are you so early so fit?”  
“Early? Have you even looked at the clock, Steven? Ah, whatever. We have a new corpse.”  
He sighed, sat up in his bed and ran across the neck.  
“I'll be there as fast as I can.”

 

“Shaw?” When she had entered the house across the terrace from the morning swimming Leilani had already heard her cell phone and reached for it shortly before the mailbox was activated. “Morning Chin, what's going on? - Excuse me? - Okay, yes. As soon as I get Keanu awake, we’re on our way. - Yes, thank you.”  
She hung up, ran over her wet hair and sighed. That could not be true. She slowly went up the stairs to the upper floor, and thoughtfully placed a hand on the door to her brother's room. No, she shook her head. To wake Keanu up when she was done in the bathroom would only be a waste of time. Time they might not have. The first Spring Break phase was almost over. At the end of the week, a complete change of hotel and pension guests would take place. A possibility for the offender to leave the island unobtrusively, so she knocked energetically.  
“Kea, wake up! We again have a victim! I’m in the bathroom. Try to wake up.”

Keanu awoke when he heard the loud voice of his sister. He shouldn’t have the last night let go as long as he had done. But the chance had just been offered and somehow it was worth it. Of course he was missing Florence, but she had made her point clear, and if he were honest with himself, it might not have lasted. He noted earlier that his relationships often did not survive the mostly stressful and dangerous everyday life of his profession. When he heard the shower in the bathroom next door go off, he shook his head. How did his sister manage to keep the famous three-minute Navy shower despite her long hair? It was always a riddle to him.  
“Kea, are you awake?” Came it again from outside. He growled slightly. Maybe she would just disappear and leave him alone when she thought he was about to get up. “Okay, so I'm downstairs and make some sandwiches. Shall we drive together?”  
“I'll come later,” he said; knowing that he would not manage to keep his sister's morning pace.  
“Well, I'll put the address in the kitchen.”  
When he heard Leilani's steps on the stairs, he got up slowly and went to the bathroom. A look in the mirror above the sink told him that he would need a really long and very hot shower to make the traces of the last night disappear completely.

 

“You know, what I always ask myself?” welcomed Kono Leilani, as she got out of her Shelby in front of the apartment building in Waipahu and joined Five-0. “How can siblings, no, even twins be so different? You, the total morning person and your brother must be pulled out of the bed almost by force.”  
Leilani grinned at this really rhetorical question, because people were different, and then pointed to a point in her car. Kono followed the hint, and saw a silver thermo-mug behind the windshield.  
“Through my veins flow 85 percent of caffeine. Believe me, additional to my morning sports I need my 3 cups of coffee, otherwise I can barely look straight ahead. But it’s quite true, how Kea got through the time with the Marines is also a mystery to me. Or he's going to get now every minute of sleep, which he didn’t get there, but more likely he has a hangover. The good came home just before dawn.”  
Kono frowned. “During the week?”  
Leilani shrugged. “He's probably using it that he has me as 'supervisor', and we still have some overtime from the Washington period. But believe me I'll sort him out soon; because I slowly start to worry about him. It's as ...” she broke off, remembering the promise that she had given her brother. As long as it was possible for her, she would conceal his connection to Florence. She took a deep breath and forced a serious expression on her face. “What do we have?”  
Kono realized, of course, that the agent had actually wanted to say something else, but she went on with the topic change, but made a mental note that she would come back to it at some point and explained: “The victim is the tenant of a ground floor apartment. She lived with her best friend, who also found her.”  
“What’s her name?” Leilani wanted to know as she was already walking toward the house.  
“Clarissa Daniels,” Kono replied, causing the brunette to stop abruptly and look at her frightened.  
“Are you sure?” Insecurity broke out in the agent. It had to be a coincidence!  
“Yes, why?” Kono looked at the brunette in surprise. Why was a name so confusing the other woman?  
“That’s the name of our witness, too!” Leilani ran to the front door and almost stumbled into Steve, who was right behind it.  
“Not so hasty.” There was a smile on his face, but it vanished immediately. The whole thing was just too serious.  
“Sorry, but ... Steve, she could ...” Leilani did not know exactly what to say and he nodded. He had also thought the same thing when he heard the name from Kono. Apparently, their perpetrator had traced her witness more quickly than they did.  
“I fear it’s her,” the elder confirmed.  
“But how can that be?” The young agent stammered, noticing how something in her began to stir; something that, on closer inspection, would have been the first sign of doubt and mistrust. “I mean, we tried to reach her all yesterday, but Keanu did not succeed. We thought she might be at the Spring Break. We wanted to come over today and question her. How can she…?” She ran through her hair that she was wearing open today, so they could dry more easily because she wanted to save the blow dry. “How can that be? I mean, how did our perpetrator figure out who she is and where she lives?”  
“I don’t know, Leilani.” He put a hand soothingly on her arm and looked at her encouraging. “But we'll find it out, okay? And if we have to turn every damn stone on this island one by one, we will find the one responsible and then we will arrest him. I promise you that.”  
His voice sounded resolutely, and Leilani immediately noticed how she believed his words, and so she nodded slowly. Steve could imagine how she felt. She was an able investigator, she had proved it several times over the last few weeks, but this case seemed to bring her to her limits, and the fact that her offender had found the witness more quickly than them could actually mean only one thing: he had access to the systems of the investigative authorities and this meant that they were looking for someone from their own ranks, which was never easy. “Listen, Max and Fong are still busy with their investigation, Chin interviews with Lori the roommate, and Danny looks past the neighbors. Why don’t we go to headquarters and try to reconstruct the last hours of the victim?” He suggested.  
She looked up and he could watch her gaze harden.  
“No,” she said, shaking her head, “I have to look at the crime scene. I want to know how ... I mean, I ...”  
She tried to put it in words that it was important for her to see the crime scene. To make her a picture of her own was always part of the investigation.  
Steve didn’t understand exactly what she wanted, but realized that it was important for her. So he nodded slowly, then let her enter.

The dwelling was typical of Hawaii: colorful and keen to insert through the used building materials in the natural environment. Through the entrance door, a brief corridor in which the mailboxes were located one reached a small courtyard. From there several stairs went to the different floors. Apparently each apartment had its own entrance. Nevertheless the tenants seemed to form a close community, because in the courtyard were several seats, tables and ... Leilani frowned, was that an Imu? She shook her head, smiling. Not that she had something against a nice Lū'au, but in a residential block? There a traditional American barbeque was more her thing.  
One of the apartment doors on the ground floor was open and before it Chin and Lori were kneeling in front of a young woman with short, dark blond hair, sitting on a white plastic chair, her face wet with tears. The roommate of the dead, Leilani concluded and then went to the three.  
“Aloha,” she said softly, then turned to the apartment after Lori and Chin had greeted her.

The sight was now so familiar to her that it almost hurt. The young woman, with her arms crossed on her chest, and eyes closed, lay exactly in the middle of the living room. The fact that she did not sleep was clarified by the blood that colored the bright carpet she was laying on.  
Leilani stood next to Max and merely nodded at the young ME when he noticed her presence. Clarissa Daniels might have been 23, but how she was lying on the ground, her eyes closed, her forehead covered by a dense pony, she seemed inexpressibly young and innocent, almost like a child. Leilani swallowed and had to look away. She had always found it difficult to investigate the deaths of young people; people who, in their opinion, had been torn out of life too early. She let her gaze wander through the living room and her stomach contracted painfully. The colorful walls were decorated with many pictures showing not only Clarissa, but also her roommate with many friends and their families; friends and relatives whom would miss the young woman.  
Between the pictures were several bookshelves and the decor of the room was completed by a small white dresser on which a television was located and a threadbare but seemingly comfortable sofa. Everything in the room spoke for the fact that the young woman, who had been killed the evening before or at night as Max had just whispered, had enjoyed life to the fullest.  
Had she met the perpetrator on one of the Spring Break parties? Leilani rubbed her chin thoughtfully. No, she did not believe that. In addition, she did not fit into the previous prey pattern of their perpetrator. The other women had been between end-twentieth and end-thirtieth and that just did not apply to Clarissa.  
So there was really only one guess left. She refused to allow that thought at all, because that was just absurd, but what if ... She shook her head. No, never would anyone from their own ranks be able to do such a thing. But it was the only scenario that still made sense and there were black sheep everywhere. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and braced herself against the pain of the realization being betrayed. They had found a witness for the murder of Florence Sullivan, had tried to reach her and now they found her murdered. The only logical explanation for this was that the perpetrator also worked in the law enforcement. Regrettably, this would explain a lot: the impossibility of identifying him, the fact that they had not found any traces on the crime scenes, the domination with which he had gone to work, and ultimately the fact that the only witness they could have merely identified via face recognition had been murdered. She turned around, walked to the apartment door with swaying steps, and had to lean against the frame. The realization was simply monstrous! As she stepped out into the fresh air and faced the worried faces of Five-0 she knew. She knew that the others had come to the same conclusion.  
The perpetrator was one of them!

 

In retrospect, Leilani could not really say how she had managed to get from Waipahu to the Iolani Palace without causing any accidents. Had she been driving herself at all? Yes, she had to, because she had her car key in her trouser pocket, but ... She shook her head as if she had water in her ears. She had to get a clear head. Had to concentrate on the case. She stepped to the others at the big computer and twitched the corners of her mouth slightly as she was aware of the discussion. Apparently, they were still not unanimous about whether their perpetrator actually worked as LEO or at least somehow had access to its systems. Since she had watched Kono and the others often enough handling with the computer and the technique did not differ greatly from her private tablet, she dared to establish a video chat with the crime lab. When the chat opened, she grinned with pleasure and with a wiping she sent the transfer to a screen hanging from the ceiling.  
“Aloha Agent Shaw,” the young lab tech said confused. He had probably missed somehow that the problems between the Shaws and Five-0 was water under the bridge. “What can I do for you?”  
“It is so that the local DNA query has brought nothing and you are now looking for nationwide. Did I understand that correctly?” She began immediately. Charlie nodded. “Good. Forget the query, into the bin with it,” she ordered the lab assistant.  
“But why? We've already searched a few percent.” On the young face was clearly the misunderstanding due to Leilani's statement.  
Leilani shook her head regretfully. “This isn’t fast enough and won’t bring anything. At least not as fast as what I am looking for. Start a linked query: the DNA profile in connection with the law enforcement system as well as the military databases.”  
“And why would Charlie do that?” Danny suddenly spoke up behind her, causing Leilani to turn alarmed around and bury her hands deep in the pockets of her Capri-pants.  
“As if you hadn’t come to the idea that the murderer must be one of us,” she defended her idea. “Someone who has a certain life experience, but who also has access to facial recognition and habitation records. So this someone is still working either in law enforcement or has it done. Former cops are still stored in the police database even after their retirement, right? At least, it is so with the military.”  
“There she has a point,” Chin said, who had now come up to them, and even Danny had to realize that the conclusions were not wrong.  
“Good,” the agent was relieved that her idea did not collapse immediately, “so you’re certainly in my opinion, too, when we first focus on this group of people as far as the query is concerned. If we’re wrong, we can still return to the old review. This time, however, we will exclude the first group. That should go, or, Charlie?” She turned back to the screen and looked at the young Asians questioningly.  
“Yes, of course,” he said.  
“Good, Charlie,” Steve said, been taken of Leilani's idea, “do as Leilani suggested. Maybe we'll finally get a result.”  
Charlie nodded and said good-bye.  
“That was a good idea,” Steve turned to the brunette. She stood beside him with a distant look, and as a result she seemed as absent as at the crime scene, which made him think. Of course, it was always hard to think of the idea that maybe someone from their own ranks was responsible for such a terrible murder series, and somehow all those who worked in the law enforcements were in some way on the same side. Even though some were a bit more crazy than others. When someone broke out of the line, everyone involved was directly concerned. Only, as opposed to him and his people, Leilani seemed to come into contact with something like this for the first time. He felt that he had to talk to Leilani about it. It was perfectly fine if such developments did not leave you unaffected, but you should be able to keep the professional distance. So he turned to his colleagues and looked at them pleadingly. “Can you leave us alone for a moment?”  
They nodded and went to one of the offices. On the way, they grabbed Keanu, who for some reason had only just arrived, and told him that they would explain everything to him.  
“Listen, Leilani.” Steve reached for her right hand, brought the other gently to her chin and forced her to look at him. “I know the fact that we may be looking for one of our own people is hard to handle, but you have to forget that for the moment. When the perpetrator committed the first murder, he ceased to be one of the good. He has knowingly decided against it.”  
“But ...” She made a contradiction, even though she did not really know exactly what she wanted to say.  
Steve shook gently his head. “No, there is no 'But'. Just as it is not forgivable what this guy did to the four women and their families. It does not matter whether he is with the armed forces, the police, or even the stupid CIA.”  
“These are really idiots,” she said softly, which made him smile; even if it did not reach his eyes and thus clarified the seriousness of the situation. Apparently, they also shared the dislike of these spineless creatures.  
“Or imagine he’s with the FBI,” he tried to cheer up the mood.  
“Well, at least they wouldn’t pretend to have a strictly secret mission and would be indispensable to the security of our nation as Homeland or the CIA likes to do,” she said with a slight smile. She guessed what Steve was up to and was really grateful for it. He tried to cheer her up and somehow did well. He pressed her hand and winked at her.  
“So, forget what the guy is doing professionally and just see him as a bastard, who really deserves to get behind bars.”  
“You mean it's that simple?” She asked, still doubting whether she could take that point of view.  
“I don’t mean it, I know it. Since I've been working here on the island, we have had to deal with some that we thought were not just our colleagues, but also our friends. Of course, you can be a bit unsettling by the realization first, but if you have made it clear to yourself what is really important, to provide answers to the victims' families, it will be easier.”  
She thought briefly about his words and then nodded. “Okay, I'll try.”  
He pressed her hand again and smiled.  
“Good, then I'll get the others and make sure they don’t die of curiosity,” he muttered, then waved to his friends, who were strikingly inconspicuous in one of the offices and had watched closely the events in the big main room.  
The rest of the day they interviewed some of Clarissa's friends and got confirmed what they had already suspected. The young woman had been the last few days at some parties, but she did not get to know anyone there. They also tried to find out something about their perpetrator, but without a name or any results, that was almost impossible, so they said good-bye to each other in the afternoon to meet again in the evening at Steve’s.

 

Because her brother had said he was going to go for a run, Leilani stood a few hours later alone in front of the house at Piikoi Street and couldn’t quite force herself to ring the bell. Somehow it was strange to be here to visit Steve. They had been able to get along again, but she still had the problem that she didn’t exactly knew why he could madden her all the time, and why she had for several days these confusing dreams in which the dark-haired did have a more than prominent role. Was it just because her last relationship had been some time ago, or were there really feelings on her side? This would make the whole situation between them only more complicated if she didn’t get them under control soon. With this she actually meant that she should forget them as quickly as possible and banish them out of her mind.  
She sighed and took a deep breath. From that she remained standing in front of the door all the time it would not get any better. So she raised her hand to the little button, which was under an enamel name-plate, which somehow looked like a child or teenager's work. Was that maybe made by Steve while in high school? Or maybe by his mysterious sister Mary, who apparently was a bit wild and lived somewhere on the mainland? Leilani shrugged. She would either know it at some time or never.  
A few moments after she had rung, the door was torn open, and a laughing Chin stood before her.  
“You're just right. Steve and Danny finally have finished their discussion about when the coal has the right temperature, and we are about to throw the meat on the grill.”  
“That sounds really good,” she said, following the Hawaiian through the open-plan ground floor and a room that was probably used as a sort of study.  
“Respectfully report, the NCIS is 50 percent present,” Leilani smirked, indicating a salute. Then she went to Steve and she did not know what she was doing at that moment, but she stood on the toes and hugged the former SEAL. “ _Hau'olilāhānau_! I was told that I should give you a birthday only if I had a death wish. So you will not get anything from me,” she joked.  
At first amazed, then smugly smirking, the members of Five-0 watched how their boss froze, then even slightly reddened and finally gently returned the embrace. For them all the situation was more than clear, even if no one would ever speak about it openly. But secretly they all had the guess that Leilani was the person Catherine had meant with her cryptic statement. And as they all liked, appreciated, and also knew how Leilani thought of family in general and 'Ohana in particular, they hoped that the two would soon realize what was in front of their noses.  
“Where did you leave your brother?” Lori asked as the two of them had finally loosened from the hug.  
Leilani nervously brushed a strand behind her ear and grumbled herself a fool. So much to the point of the feelings buried and forgotten!  
“He said he needed to do a bit for his fitness again, and we should start without him, but still save him something to eat.”  
“So, Steven,” Danny emphasized the name of his partner exaggeratedly, as he always did when he thought the other was just acting completely inappropriate, “then off to the grill with you. Since you are of the opinion that only a SEAL can make a really good steak, you should also prove it to us.”  
“Do we have to have this discussion every time we meet for grilling?” Kono sighed, but then she got only a nod from Steve and Danny. Shaking her head, the women withdrew to the terrace. It was a little narrower than that of the Shaws, so the oval dining table, made of light natural wood, together with the chairs had been placed on the lawn in front of it, so that they would all have a seat. Lori and Kono sat down opposite Leilani and winked knowingly, as the eyes of the brunette wandered again and again to the three men at the grill.  
“Sooooo,” Lori pulled the word exaggeratedly, “you know what would interest me, Kono?”  
“No, what, Lori,” Kono got on the allusion. She could think what the blonde was planning. She wanted to test what Leilani really thought of their boss.  
“How long do you think will it take for Steve to get over the break up from Cath and has the next girlfriend?” She asked, trying to sound as neutral as possible, so that Leilani would not get too fast behind her sting.  
Leilani's head flew around and she fixed the two women. How should that be meant?  
“Well,” Kono acted thoughtfully, but she had to force herself to remain serious. Leilani was so done, but she probably did not know it yet. “When is the next governor's reception? I think that if Steve is there wearing a suit or even a tuxedo, he will hardly be able to save himself from the offerings, and this time he does not have Catherine in the little black dress who drives the pack away.”  
“Do you think?” The blonde asked, keeping Leilani in sight out of the corner of her eye. The young agent seemed to feel more and more uncomfortable.  
“Of course,” Kono said confidently.  
“Excuse me,” Leilani squeezed out, quickly getting up and walking quickly towards the sea.  
The two women watched silently behind her, but then had to laugh.  
“Oh, it's going to be so fun,” Lori said, wiping a small tear from the corner of her eye, and Kono could only agree with her. To see how the two would finally recognize what they all already knew would cost a lot of nerves, but it would also be more than entertaining.  
At that moment, one of the phones on the table rang and after a quick look, Lori realized it was Steve's.  
“Hey Steve, Charlie is calling you. Should I answer?” She shouted to Steve, who was just working on the grill.  
“No, wait,” the dark-haired said, coming over the lawn toward her. He wondered what was going on with Leilani. She had gone to the beach in a hurry. There she now stood, letting her feet been surrounded by the waves coming towards the shore, and looking out into the sea. “Hello Charlie,” he greeted the other, after accepting the call at the last moment. “Yes, thank you, but actually you and the whole lab had already congratulated me. So, what's up? Moment, wait a moment.” Steve put a hand on Kono's shoulder and asked her, “Do you have an eye that Danny'll keep his fingers from the grill? I'll be right back.” With that he disappeared in the house, so he could concentrate on the phone call.

 

The man joined the queue at the check-in counter, adjusted the strap of his backpack and ran over his hair. The new hairstyle was unusual, but necessary. It was a long time since he had worn them the last time so extremely short, but it had to be. Like his departure.  
When it was his turn, he passed his passport to the somewhat older woman behind the counter.  
“Destination?” Came the dull standard question.  
“Los Angeles,” he replied, letting his gaze wander unobtrusively over the people in the open hall. Had his absence already been noticed, and one was looking for him? Apparently it was not so. The check-in hall was full and loud, but in it was no one that looked around conspicuous inconspicuous. He only discovered a few airport policemen on their normal patrol, so he relaxed a bit when he was approached again.  
“Do you stay in California?”  
“No.” He shook his head. “I'm just changing there. I'm on my way to Europe.”  
“Do you go on vacation?” Slowly the gray-haired lady with the large, purple spectacle framed classes behind the counter seemed to open up and give him more interest than he liked.  
“No.” In him the desire awoke to ram a fist in the face of this curious woman, but that would have been counterproductive, so he clenched his teeth and gave himself courteously and kindly. “Job issues.”  
“Then I wish you all the best, Mr. Moore.” She handed the man his passport and the flight ticket, then waved him over. “The next, please.” He sighed inwardly with relief and went away.

When he had stowed his backpack in the luggage compartment and sat in his seat, he closed his eyes and thought of all the things he left behind: Friends, family, a good job and a nice house. But sometimes there was no other way. The ground on the island had just become too hot. Perhaps Nice offered him what he needed and wanted.  
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain. I welcome you on the flight from Honolulu International Airport to Los Angeles International. The estimated flight time is six hours. We now have start permission. Please turn off all electronic devices until we reach our final travel altitude. I wish a pleasant flight”, the captain's friendly voice squeaked through the loudspeakers, the soft click of the belts was heard; the plane would just set in motion.  
The man took his mobile phone out of his pocket, quickly tapped a message, then turned it off, knowing that he would never be able to use it again.

 

When Steve left the house after the phone call, his face was pale, tense, and everyone who knew him well knew that this expression meant Charlie had not had good news for him. Leilani sat at the table again with the other members of Five-0 and entertained herself excitedly. Why she had just gone to the beach, it did not seem to be anything serious.  
Steve became ill at the thought that he would have to give her one of the worst news she would ever receive in her life.  
He had to report bad news on a regular basis, but this was different, and he had no plan how to do it. Care would be appropriate, but he did not want to postpone it. As if in a trance, he sat down on the free chair next to Leilani. His head felt as if it was empty.  
Still various sentence fragments whirred around in his mind, yielding little sense, but it had to be said. Now! For every second counted. His hand lay down on Leilani's forearm resting on the armrest. Surprised by the touch, she turned her head and looked him right in the face.  
Before Steve said anything, she saw in his eyes that something was wrong. They looked cloudy and his earnest expression underlined the oppressive atmosphere of the older man.  
“Leilani ...” His voice seemed so strange to him, still none of the accusative phrases was even nearly fitting. He took a deep breath and the only thing he could say was, “it’s Keanu.”  
“What is Keanu?” The brunette looked puzzled, which Steve could not blame. With this statement was really little to begin with. So he closed his eyes for a moment, sighed, and then looked at the young agent asking for forgiveness.  
“He is our culprit. He has done all the murders of the last month.”  
The bomb had burst and had not missed its effect. Horror and disbelief broke out among all those present.  
“That is not true! Do you even hear what you say?” Leilani exclaimed. That was absolutely absurd. Yes, her brother had changed in the last few weeks, but accusing him directly of murder was simply absurd and completely nonsensical. But, whispered a little voice, he did not want Five-0 to learn of his connection to Florence and she had had DNA under his fingernails. So he had to...  
“That was Fong,” Steve tried to explain and took her out of her desperate thoughts, which simply did not want to grasp what was going on. “The confirmation came in just a few hours ago. But, given the circumstances, they checked it twice and Lei,” he realized that he was addressing her for the first time with her nickname, but somehow he had the feeling that he so could make clear that he care about her and he would support her, “there is no doubt. The request has also triggered some kind of alarm, so your superiors know. They're already wondering if they should put Keanu on the black list.”  
Leilani jumped up, ran again down to the sea. She had to be alone in this moment. Despair about the news that her brother was suspected was as much in her as uncertainty about why Keanu was not there yet. She wondered if this fact did not even say that the results were true, but she did not want to believe that. He might have been stopped by something totally normal. Besides, he was her brother, her Kea. Wouldn’t she know if he was capable of such a thing? Although she knew he had already killed, she did not believe he was capable of murder; then also in such a bestial way. She pulled the cell phone out of her trouser bag and frantically pressed the speed dial for her brother’s phone, but reached only the mailbox.  
Five-0 watched her sink into the sand and how her shoulders began to shake.  
“Can someone enlighten me?” Kono asked cautiously. “What is the black list?”  
“There is a list of names. Names of persons whose crimes are so cruel that the American judiciary declares them to be outlawed,” Lori said, as quietly. “Whoever lands on this list is a person without a nation, without a home and without rights. It used to be a death list.”  
Steve did not pay attention to the discussion of his team. His gaze hung on the dainty person by the sea.  
“Go to her,” advised Chin, who was sitting next to his boss. “She'll be grateful to you.”  
Steve shrugged uncertainly, but then stood up and slowly began to move. He was not sure what to expect. She could be grateful to him if he helped her, but on the other hand she could be angry with him and attack him because he was the one who had given her the news. People rarely acted rationally when they were desperate.  
When arrived besides Leilani, he settled down next to her and noticed that she was still holding her cell while mute tears ran down her face. After a quick glance from the corners of her eyes she recognized who was sitting next to her and she sniffed slightly.  
“He's not answering, Steve. He never violated these rule of Gibbs. Rule number 3: Never be unreachable!”  
The dark-haired put an arm around her shoulder and noticed how her head sank on his.  
“Why don’t I reach him?” She asked in a trembling voice.  
Before Steve could say anything, the smartphone vibrated and indicated that she had received a message. With a trembling hand she opened it.

 _“I'm sorry, sis. I never wanted to cause you pain. But they forced me to do it. These women wanted it!_  
_I guess when we see each other the next time it will be the end for one of us. So don’t look for me, because I will not restrain myself just because we are related to each other._  
_I love you, sis._  
_Keanu.”_

 

End

 

* * *

 

_Hau'olilāhānau = Hawaiian for „Happy Birthday“_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this was the last chapter of my story and ... yeah, well. I had planned to write a sequel but my muse is currently completely unwiling to work in my favours; so I don't know when or if something will come. 
> 
> Up to then I hope you liked this story as much as I liked to write and translate it.


End file.
